I totally see your point about dentist-made guards being the safer bet, but honestly, we've had pretty decent luck with the drugstore boil-and-bite ones. My daughter grinds her teeth a lot at night, and our dentist actually suggested trying a cheaper option first to see if she'd even tolerate wearing something overnight. Surprisingly, it's worked out fine for her so far...no complaints or discomfort yet. Might not be perfect for everyone, but it's definitely another route worth considering before jumping straight to the pricier custom ones.
We've been down the boil-and-bite route too, and honestly, it wasn't terrible. My son tolerated it fine, but I did notice he chewed through them pretty quickly—like every couple months we were back at the store buying another one. Eventually, we bit the bullet (pun intended, haha) and got a dentist-made guard. It's pricier upfront, but it's lasted way longer and fits better. Still, if you're not sure your kid will even wear it, starting cheap makes sense. Just don't ignore it altogether...teeth repairs aren't cheap either.
We've been dealing with this too, and honestly, I wondered if it was really that big of a deal at first. My daughter grinds her teeth pretty loudly—sometimes I can hear it from the hallway. We tried the boil-and-bite guards, but she complained they felt weird and stopped wearing them after a couple weeks. Now I'm wondering if I should just go straight to the dentist-made one or give the cheaper ones another shot. Did your kid complain about comfort at all with the dentist-made guard?
"We tried the boil-and-bite guards, but she complained they felt weird and stopped wearing them after a couple weeks."
We had a similar experience with the boil-and-bite ones—my son said they felt bulky and awkward. Eventually, we went for the dentist-made guard, and honestly, it was night and day. He still grumbled a bit at first (typical teen...), but after a few nights, he barely noticed it. It's pricier upfront, but considering comfort and actual usage, I'd say it's worth looking into.
I had the same issue with boil-and-bite guards—they always felt too thick and made it hard to fall asleep. Eventually, I switched to a custom dentist-made one, and the difference was pretty noticeable. Took me about a week to fully adjust, but after that, I hardly noticed it was there. Definitely pricier, but considering how much better my jaw felt in the mornings, it was worth it for me.
