Maybe it was made improperly.

Webby

You're welcome!

Oops. I knew it was a ...cluding element ;)
I would say that it is rather long- maybe 8mm. The diameter of the
semi-cylinder is ca. 4 mm. This is not uncomfortable while I am awake,
but in the morning it feels like the underside of my tongue has been
pushing against the element.

There's little information on prices even at smd, so for patients
trying to get as much data as possible this might be a useful ballpark
estimate. I was charged $110 for oral eval, $450 for NTI, with an
expected $350 for occludal adjustment. I am sure that adjusting the
NTI would have been free of charge, but since my appointment with the
dentist making that NTI has been rather traumatic, I will have to find
someone else to make the necessary adjustments.

Unfortunately the joint pain has not disappeared though it's a little
less now. I did notice my lower jaw resting in a little more forward
position though.

Yes, personal experiences are generally good to hear about.

If your tongue is sore, you need to have the device trimmed
and polished.

Sore incisors are not normal either.  How 'tall' is the
discluding (not occluding) element?  The original NTI
devices had a rather long and tall discluding element.  It
required significant trimming for most cases.

The newer 'reduced vertical' NTI needs much less trimming
for the average case, but for closed bites, it may not open
the bite sufficiently.  For significant overbites, even the
reduced vertical sometimes needs adjusting.

I suspect that an adjustment with your vertical might help.

One size doesn't fit all.

That also brings up a point about the fees.  There are times
where I may need to make a different NTI than I first construct.
There are lots of times that I need to fine tune the device.
I may need to trim and polish for a sore tongue.  I may need to
alter the bite.  I may need to make a 'slide bar' to go along with
the regular NTI.

The point is that we should not be saying, "An NTI cost $X", and
a patient should not just have an NTI made and be dismissed as
if the treatment is complete!

The fee should include working with the patient and their NTI until
everything is as comfortable as possible.  The fee is for treatment
that includes an NTI.  Not a fee just for an NTI.

If the patient is not told to communicate any problems, return for
possible adjustments, keep the device away from pets (especially
dogs, they will chew them up in a heartbeat), bring the NTI in when
getting check-up, to occasionally check the discluding element
for wear or notches, etc., then the patient is being short changed.

JMO,
D

Thanks for the unbiased report. Keep them coming, please!

Your mileage will vary, but since I changed from a lower jaw soft
nightguard to an upper NTI last week here's my impression. The
nightguard is bulky and fell out the first few nights I have worn it.
The NTI on the other hand is tiny and stays in place. However, it puts
some pressure on upper and lower incissors, I also wake up with a sore
tongue since it seems to rub against the occluding element. So far I
would rate the soft nightguard higher in comfort, but if you can't
sleep with your mouth feeling full then the NTI might be a better
choice. Price for night guard ~ $200 (back in 2002), price for NTI ~
$450 (last Wednesday).

That might also reduce the willingness to wear them. My jaw clicks
when opened wide and the muscles are sore, so there was good
motivation to do something about it. The nightguard reduced symptoms
by 50%, with the NTI I have not seen any change yet (but it's only
been 4 nights so far).

My student dentist had indicated that she thought I grinded my teeth
and so should get a night guard. I said that I doubted I would be able
to wear one because I am a very light sleeper and had trouble wearing
the teeth whitening thing that was made for me a few years ago.

So then I read you guys talking about NTI and I decided to ask her
about that.

So I did and she had never heard of it. She asked another student
dentist and he had never heard of it.

Then she asked the prof, probably 60 years old.

He looked puzzled and said it was for headaches. I said, "Yes, but
apparently some dentists are using them successfully for grinding
problems."

He said, "Maybe for short term use it might be okay, especially if
grinding is giving you headaches, but long term use will probably
cause the front teeth to protrude, and also it can cause problems in
the jaw, leading to TMJ or other problems." I can't remember exactly
what he said, but it was something like that.

In any case, he was very much against it.

Seemed to me that he really didn't know much about it, though and was
probably behind-the-times in his views on this.

But what about these assertions?

Personally, the cost of a night guard OR an NTI seems overpriced to
me, and I am leaning towards not getting either one. I really have no
proof or indication, that I grind all that much in the first place. I
have never had headaches much at all (until my recent sinus lift - see
my thread on that!). So I am skeptical about my need for any kind of
guard.