Custom Night Guards
Night Guards in Edison, NJ
A guard made from an impression of your own teeth, to take the force of grinding while you sleep. Most people who need one find out from a dentist rather than from themselves. Also can be made to be used as a sports guard.
- Made from your own impression
- For grinding and clenching, to alleviate TMJ issues
- Prevents you from wearing away your teeth
- Open Saturdays 8 AM – 1 PM
What a night guard does
Grinding and clenching happen while you're asleep, which is why almost nobody catches it in themselves. The force involved is well beyond anything you would apply chewing, and it is applied for hours, against teeth that have no way to move out of the way.
Enamel wears flat. Cusps chip. Fillings crack at the margins, crowns come loose, and people wake with a sore jaw or a headache at the temples and blame the pillow.
A guard does not stop you grinding. Nothing worn in the mouth does. What it does is give the force something else to wear down — a piece of acrylic that costs a fraction of a molar and can be replaced when it is worn through, which is exactly the trade you want.
Which guard, and whether a drugstore one will do
Guards differ in what they are made of, and that single choice sets both how long one lasts and how quickly you get used to it.
| Material | Best for | What you are trading |
|---|---|---|
| Hard acrylic | Best for: Heavy grinders, and anyone who has already cracked a tooth, a filling or a crown. | Trade-off: The most protective and the longest-lived. It does not give, so it takes the longest to get used to. |
| Soft | Best for: Light clenching, and anyone unsure they will tolerate wearing something at night. | Trade-off: Comfortable from the first night and the shortest-lived. A heavy grinder can chew through one inside a year, and a few people find that something soft to bite into makes them clench harder. |
| Dual-laminate | Best for: People who grind hard enough to need a hard guard and cannot get along with one. | Trade-off: Soft against the teeth, hard on the outside. A middle ground on both counts rather than the best of either. |
| Drugstore boil-and-bite | Best for: Not something we would recommend for nightly use. | Trade-off: A stock tray softened in hot water and bitten into, so it fits approximately. A guard that does not match your bite can move teeth over months, and a bulky one usually ends up on the nightstand by the second week. |
Which one you would get here
[Doctor to confirm before this page is published: which of these does Edison Dental Studio actually provide — hard acrylic, soft, dual-laminate, or all three — and which is the default for a routine grinder with no cracked teeth yet? The comparison above is accurate in general. This paragraph should say what happens here.]
What decides it in any case is the wear already on your teeth, and that is visible at an exam long before you would notice it yourself. Flat, polished facets on the molars, a chipped edge on a front tooth, the same filling failing twice: those are the findings that start this conversation, and they are the reason it usually starts at a checkup rather than because somebody came in asking for a guard.
What happens if you wait
Enamel does not grow back. Whatever has been worn off is gone, and the grinding that wore it off is still happening every night.
The sequence is fairly predictable. Flattened cusps first, then sensitivity as the enamel thins over the dentine underneath, then a cracked cusp or a split filling — and at that point the conversation is about a crown rather than a guard. A guard is among the least expensive things on this website. A cracked molar is not, and the guard is still needed afterwards to protect the crown.
What a night guard costs
Many plans cover a night guard in part, usually filed as an occlusal guard, and most that do set a frequency limit — one every few years rather than one a year. If you have had a guard made before, that limit is worth knowing before we make another.
We verify your specific benefits with your carrier before the appointment, and you get the cost before anything starts.
Night Guard (Custom)
A guard made from an impression of your own teeth, to protect them from grinding at night.
See the insurance we accept, or call (732) 985-1120 and we will verify your benefits before you come in.
How a guard gets made
Two visits with a lab in between. A guard is made against your bite, not just against your teeth, which is the part a stock tray cannot do.
We look at the wear
Flat, shiny facets on the back teeth, chipped edges at the front, fillings failing at the margins, and sometimes a scalloped edge along the tongue. We will also ask whether you wake with a sore jaw or a headache at the temples, and whether anyone has told you they can hear it.
Impressions, and how your teeth meet
Impressions of both arches, plus a record of how the upper and lower teeth come together. That bite record is what the lab builds the biting surface against, and it is the difference between a guard that spreads the force evenly and one that lands on a single tooth.
The lab makes it
[Doctor to confirm: how long does the lab take for a guard? The crowns page commits to about two weeks and patients ask for a date, so this page should give one rather than say 'a couple of weeks'.]
Fitting, and the bite check
It goes in, and we check how it sits and where it makes contact when you close. High spots are adjusted there and then. A guard that hits one tooth first does more harm than no guard at all, which is why this visit exists and why the drugstore version has nothing equivalent.
Will I actually wear it?
The first few nights are strange, and most people produce more saliva than usual to begin with. It is common to take it out in your sleep during the first week without remembering doing it. Put it back in the next night; nearly everyone has settled into it within two weeks.
If you have not after that, come back rather than giving up on it. A guard that still feels wrong at three weeks is usually a bite that needs a small adjustment, and occasionally it is the wrong material for the way you grind. Either is fixable, and neither is a reason to spend a year not wearing it.
Looking after it
Rinse it when it comes out and brush it with cool water and a soft brush. Skip the toothpaste — it is abrasive enough to scratch acrylic, and the scratches hold bacteria. Let it dry before it goes in the case, because a wet guard in a closed case grows things.
Never hot water and never the dishwasher. Both warp it, and a warped guard no longer matches the bite it was built against. Keep it somewhere the dog cannot reach, which is not a joke and is the most common reason a guard gets replaced early.
Bring it to your cleanings. The wear on the guard tells us how hard you are grinding and roughly how long this one has left.
Reviewed by
Dr. Michael Lesnianski, DDS
Doctor of Dental Surgery, New York University College of Dentistry, graduated with Clinical Honors; residency at Woodhull Medical Center, Brooklyn.
Last reviewed
How do I know if I grind my teeth?
Most people do not, because it happens while they are asleep. It is usually found one of two ways: a partner hears it, or a dentist sees the wear. The signs we look for are flat polished facets on the back teeth, chipped edges at the front, and fillings that keep failing at the same margin. Waking with a sore jaw or a headache at the temples points the same way.
Fillings →Will a night guard stop me grinding?
No, and anything that claims to should be treated carefully. Grinding is something your jaw does while you are asleep, and a guard does not reach the reason for it. What it does is put a replaceable piece of acrylic between your teeth so that the force wears that down instead of your enamel. That is a smaller promise than people expect, and it is the one that is actually true.
Can't I just buy a night guard from the drugstore?
You can, and for occasional use it is better than nothing. The problem is fit. A boil-and-bite tray is softened in hot water and bitten into, so it matches your teeth approximately and your bite not at all. Worn nightly for months, a guard that does not match your bite can move teeth, and a bulky one usually gets abandoned. A custom guard is made from an impression and then adjusted in the chair against how your teeth actually meet.
How long does a night guard last?
It depends on how hard you grind, which is the same thing that made you need one. A soft guard can be chewed through in under a year by a heavy grinder; a hard acrylic guard worn by a light clencher can last several years. Bring it to your cleanings and we will tell you how much is left in it before it fails rather than after.
Teeth cleaning and exams →Does insurance cover a night guard?
Often in part, usually filed as an occlusal guard, and typically with a frequency limit of one every few years rather than one a year. Plans vary more on this item than on most. We check your specific benefits with your carrier before the appointment, including whether a previous guard has already used up the allowance.
Where to go next
Where to find us
Edison Dental Studio is at 96 Plainfield Ave, Edison, NJ 08817. The practice has cared for families in Edison for more than 50 years. You can reach us at (732) 985-1120.
- Monday
- 9 AM – 5 PM
- Tuesday
- 9 AM – 5 PM
- Wednesday
- 9 AM – 5 PM
- Thursday
- Closed
- Friday
- 9 AM – 5 PM
- Saturday
- 8 AM – 1 PM
- Sunday
- Closed
Part of our general dentistry care.
Night guards in Edison, NJ
If you wake with a sore jaw, or someone has told you they can hear it, come in and let us look at the wear. Call us or book online.