I’ve bounced between hard and soft guards too, and honestly, the difference is pretty noticeable. The hard acrylic ones definitely last longer for me—my last one made it about two and a half years before it started cracking at the edges. The soft ones feel way better at first (almost like wearing a gummy bear on your teeth), but mine got chewed up in less than a year. I think if you’re a heavy grinder, the hard guards just hold their shape better under all that pressure.
About cleaning… I’ve tried everything short of building a tiny dishwasher. Tablets helped some, but they never totally killed that plasticky funk. I did find that alternating between a denture cleaner and plain old dish soap (plus letting it dry completely) slowed the smell down, but after a while, nothing really saves it.
Bite shifting is real too—my dentist said even small changes can make the guard feel off, especially if you’re clenching hard at night. It’s annoying when you drop all that cash and still have to replace it every year or so, but at least it beats waking up with jaw pain.
