Nightguards are great, but man, the price tag hurts almost as much as the tooth grinding itself, lol. Wonder if those cheaper drugstore ones actually do the trick or just make things worse...?
"Wonder if those cheaper drugstore ones actually do the trick or just make things worse...?"
I've been wondering the same thing... tempted to try one out but I'm worried it'll mess up my bite. Has anyone actually had success with those cheaper options?
I tried one of those cheap drugstore mouthguards last year—figured, hey, it's just plastic, how bad could it be? Step one: boil water. Step two: dunk plastic thingy. Step three: shove molten plastic in mouth and pray. Honestly, it wasn't terrible, but it felt bulky and weirdly squishy. Didn't ruin my bite or anything, but I woke up drooling like a Saint Bernard. Eventually caved and got a custom one from the dentist... wallet cried, but mouth thanked me.
Haha, your description of the boil-and-bite experience is spot-on. Did you also have that awkward moment where you're standing over the sink, drooling uncontrollably, wondering if you messed it up? Been there. I'm still rocking the cheapo guard myself—wallet's still in denial—but your dentist upgrade sounds tempting. Glad to hear it actually made a difference though...maybe someday I'll bite the bullet too.
Haha, the drooling-over-the-sink struggle is real. I remember standing there thinking, "Did I just ruin this thing?" Honestly, upgrading to a dentist-made guard felt like a splurge at first, but after years of waking up with jaw pain and headaches, it was worth every penny. Took me a while to accept it too—my wallet definitely protested—but the relief was immediate. If your symptoms ever get worse, might be worth considering...but no rush if the cheapo's still doing the trick.
