A $10 gift to my mouth

Who would have thought I'd like my dental night guard?

But I do; I'm a total convert.

Back in early July, when my ENT was diagnosing my jaw aches as due to clenching (possibly the cause of of my tinnitus, possibly caused by it, or maybe just an unfortunate coincidence), he mentioned dental guards at the same time he pooh-poohed them.  "You could wear a dental night guard, but then you'd have to clench your jaws to keep it in place . . ."

(Multiple friends and acquaintances have told me that he's wrong about the clenching-to-keep-it-in-place part, by the way).

Even earlier, about a year ago, my dentist mentioned night guards.  I'd had sensitive teeth for a couple of weeks; now I believe the reason was sinus issues, but at time we weren't sure, and she suggested it might be caused by grinding my teeth at night.  She made me a very crude night guard herself -- it was the color of silly putty, and big and puffy like a smurf, bulging out so much I couldn't figure out where to put my tongue, and I used it for about 5 minutes one night before giving up.  When she'd made it for me, she apologized for the crudeness, adding, "I don't know if we can convince insurance that you need a guard" (meaning, a real one), and because of that I just assumed that any functional night guard would cost, I dunno, $500.

But after my ENT suggested/didn't suggest the night guard, that one conversation led to all sorts of conversations with other people who used night guards successfully.  And eventually, I realized that in the same way reading glasses can be $500 if you buy them from one place, but can be $20 in the drug store (and less, in some bargain outlets) -- in that same way, dental guards can be pricey or they can be cheapo drug store versions.

So, my husband and I took a romantic hand-in-hand walk to our local drug store where, sure enough, we found a variety of options, including a "two night guards for $20" box, which I figured was a reasonable expense for a night guard experiment.  

The way you fit the dental night guard to your mouth -- and it only goes on the top teeth, so you really only need one at a time -- is to soak it in hot water, put it in your mouth, and bite down on it to mold it to your teeth.  Very easy.

I figured it was going to take me a couple of nights to get used to it, so I was really surprised to find that it was actually quite comfortable. At first, I thought I might have more drool issues (it seemed to make my mouth water a bunch), but even that seems to have become not a real issue.  

After a few nights with the night guard, I tried falling asleep without it, and I think it took me 5 minutes to change my mind and snap it back in. I have really sharp teeth, and biting my tongue has been a weird off-and-on thing with me, but with the night guard in, my tongue is safe from those evil fangs.  

My sister has used night guards for years; in fact, she grinds her teeth so much that she regularly wears through her guards and has to replace them.  My cheapo night guard has held up well for over a month now, with no real signs of breaking down (I haven't yet gotten the second one out of the box).  

So there you go: I put a tiny bit of money where my mouth is, and I like it.