I'm not sure.  I believe I need a guard to wear while I sleep.  I
clench my teeth at night, have a jaw that pops occasionally, and
associated neck muscle pain.  I am getting an implant crown put on in a
couple days and don't want to screw it up.

My dentist previously gave me a soft night guard to wear at night, but
it caused my teeth to move each night, so I quit wearing it after about
a week.  I tried unsucessfully to talk to my dentist about it at the
time, so I haven't done anything about it since.  Now that I'm getting
the implant crown, though I need to.

I've phoned my dentist's office and they do the NTI (though they're not
listed on the NTI web site), they do a hard bite guard (thermo guard)
which they generally prefer for tooth protection caused by grinding and
clenching, and they do jaw realignment through 24 hour a day wearing of
hard trays that are adjusted weekly.

I'm leaning towards wanting the NTI done.

Did you need an evening guard or a full-fledged night guard

--
Joel34

Hello--

I have a jaw that pops occasionally on one side.  I can go months
without it popping, but once it starts it will pop three or four times
a week and then go away again in a couple weeks.  It's frequently
started by an extended dentist visit -- and I've had several of those
this year with having an implant done.

I also have tori (spelling?) where the bone ridges are growing on the
outside of my upper jaw and on the inside of my lower jaw.  I clench my
jaws when I sleep apparently, but do not grind.  I think it is stress
related.

At one point my dentist did a molded night guard for me that was just
one of those clear flexible things.  It had a sharp ridge across the
roof of my mouth and was uncomfortable when my tongue hit it -- and it
was right where my tongue went.  So what would happen is that my tongue
would apparently push at the back of my front teeth and when i'd wake
up in the morning, my bite was different and my teeth would shift back
during the day and start all over again.

When I started to explain to my dentist, I didn't even get the first
couple sentences out before he told me that what I really needed was
extensive work to realign my jaws because dentists now know that
clenching isn't caused by stress but by improperly aligned jaws and he
cited my occasional popping as proof.  He said that things like braces,
possible crowns, and possibly bone work might be necessary to perfectly
align jaws and it could cost $20,000 - $30,000.  I just don't have that
kind of money to spend right now and it wouldn't be covered by
insurance.

Recently, I have read about a different kind of bite guard, though that
is something only your front teeth bite down on.  I cannot remember the
name of that kind of guard.  Before that I hadn't known that different
kinds were available.  What kind might be best to prevent me from
clenching and causing the bone ridges to get even bigger?

Thanks!