Tooth Attrition

[Maximus]

Hello

I would like your advice regarding my worn down teeth. A few Years ago my dentist told me that I suffered from tooth attrition caused by teeth grinding at night and that I should wear a nightguard. I tried the nightguard but because it was bulky I did not wear it for long and I think because of that the tooth attrition continued to damage my teeth.

Recently I have noticed that there are smaller nightgaurds available that are much smaller than my old big bulky nightguard. In view of the fact that I suffer from tooth attrition, are these smaller nightguards any good for my teeth?

[Dr Mohsen J. Esfahani]

Thank you for your post. As far as nightguards are concerned, the most important thing would be that they need to be worn every night. If they are staying in the cupboard all the time, they cant protect your teeth against the forces of grinding and clenching which can cause a lot of tooth attrition and tooth wear.

You would have is to come in so that we can assess your case for a NTI-TSS splint. These splints only stay on front teeth and don't extend to the back of the mouth like traditional nightguards. So NTI-tss splints are smaller than traditional nightguards. If you find that with a NTI-tss splint your compliance improves, then I would recommend that you use the NTI-tss splint long term.