Protective Appliances
At the practice, all dentists are able to offer a wide range of appliances used specifically in aiming to prevent disease, protect teeth or structures from wear or damage and help maintain health and balance of teeth following correction. This includes orthodontic retainers, sports mouthguards, snoring appliances, protective bite splints and guards.
Prevention is always better than cure is how the old adage goes!! We are all now keeping more teeth and living longer lives-and so our teeth are having to withstand a lot more wear and tear as the years go on. This is one of the reasons why the practice has invested in scanner technology to help monitor this aspect of dental care.
Here are some of the appliances we can provide should the need arise:
Bite Guards
Clenching or grinding or bruxing- these are all names given to what we in dentistry term parafunction. In other words, it is damage caused by tooth against tooth contact outside of eating and chewing. This type of activity can lead to shortening and flattening of teeth, cracking and chipping of teeth which can then lead to pain, sensitivity and ultimately tooth loss. Your dentist will monitor this as part of your dental examination and in cases where the rate of wear is excessive and the damage caused significant may advise wearing a protective splint.
Click here for more details on the S4S website
TMD splints
A significant number of patients will every now and then suffer with pain in and around the jaw joint (TMJ) on either or both sides. We call this ‘dysfunction’ and can vary from a painless ‘clicking’ of the joint to more acute pain with joint spasm, locking and even dislocation. In cases where symptoms are more acute it is most important to be fitted with a hard acrylic TMD splint to be worn overnight. This will help the muscles around the joint to settle down and prevent further joint damage and alleviate pain around the joint, head and neck.
"Thank you for recommending Sleep Clench Inhibitor, I have now had mine for approximately ten months, and seen a great improvement on my head aches. Anybody suffering from constant headaches I would recommend the S C I." - Marian
Click here for more details on the S4S website
Snoring appliances
A lot of patients are now reporting to us that they are known to snore and cause disruption to their or most commonly other people’s sleep. Snoring is the noise created when the passage of air is partially obstructed by the tongue falling to the back of the airway. There is also a much under diagnosed condition known as ‘disruptive sleep apnoea’ in which our sleep is interrupted after a brief period of complete airway obstruction and the need to consciously take a breath.
We now offer a range of four mandibular advancement devices which all work by helping to keep the tongue away from the back of the throat during sleep, allowing the passage of air to remain unobstructed.
Risk assessment questionnaire for sleep apnoea
Sports mouthguards
A variety of colours and designs available in various strengths depending on the degree of protection required. Contoured to offer full protection of the lips, cheeks and tongue from the teeth potentially occurring during contact sports.
Orthodontic retainers
Thin acrylic retainers (Essix retainers) constructed to just cover the crown surfaces of teeth to maintain tooth position following orthodontic treatment. Available in standard or harder ‘duratain’ acrylic and ideally worn every night for the first year and alternate nights thereafter.
