When it comes to fighting bruxism and teeth grinding, night guards are a popular and effective way of preventing this damaging habit. Some dentists may reference an NTI night guard as an option. What is an NTI night guard, and how does it differ from other premium night guards?
Night guards can be categorized into two different categories, custom, and over-the-counter. Custom night guards are crafted by companies like SportingSmiles to help prevent teeth grinding and clenching. These custom night guards are created from teeth impressions that customers create by using a patented impression kit. From the impressions, the user can select a type of night guard that will fit their habit whether it’s light/heavy clenching, light/heavy grinding, or both. Custom night guards offer the max protection against a habit that can cost thousands in teeth damage.
Over-the-counter night guards can be bought in stores and are cheaply made. These night guards offer the bare minimum protection against teeth grinding. They may seem bulky or uncomfortable to sleep in and may break down after just a few months. It may seem like you are saving money but you’ll need to repeatedly buy over-the-counter night guards to give your teeth the bare minimum protection. There’s another option called NTI Night guards. What is an NTI night guard? Let’s find out.
NTI Night Guards are crafted to cover your front teeth as opposed to your full row of teeth that custom or store-bought night guards protect. The letters “NTI” stands for “Nociceptive Trigeminal Inhibition” which helps reduce tension through this suppression system device. As mentioned previously, NTI Night Guards are different from commonly crafted ones. Instead of covering the entire row of teeth, an NTI Night Guard will be worn over just the front teeth call the central incisors during sleep.
Dentists used to craft these for their patients but NTI Guards are following out of the mainstream for night guards for a few reasons. With the entire tension of the night guard on the front two teeth, it could end up damaging the root of the teeth. More modern night guards are custom crafted to cover the entire row of teeth. That way the tension isn’t solely focused on the front teeth making it safer. With the molars of the mouth being able to withstand heavy clenching and grinding, custom night guards that are crafted for the entire row of teeth help spread the tension instead of just focusing on two teeth.
What is an NTI Night Guard? It’s a night guard crafted to fit over the front two teeth to relieve headaches, and joint pain in the jaw, and to help prevent teeth grinding. The style of NTI night guards is falling out of the dental industry as custom-crafted night guards are becoming more affordable with companies like SportingSmiles.
SportingSmiles can craft a custom night guard using the patented impression kit. Depending on whether you grind your teeth or clench them you can select from a variety of nightguards that will protect against your specific habits. NTI Night Guards are very specific in what they can protect against teeth grinding.
