Anybody else have an NTI device?

[lindrusso]

I just got fitted for a NTI device - a type of nightguard for people who grind or clench their teeth. It's not at all what I expected! It's quite awkward to sleep with - you're essentially sleeping with your mouth open and it sticks out a bit so you can't really close your lips around it either. Much to my surprise though - I did manage to sleep okay last night. Although I'm afraid I might frighten DH if he turned over and looked at me in the middle of the night! ;)

I guess it makes sense though - if you have a guard that allows you to still clench your teeth together, you might cut down on the wear on the surface of your teeth, but you're still clenching and applying pressure. I have bone loss and have lost teeth because of my clenching, so I'm willing to try just about anything!

Just wondered if anyone else had one and what their experiences with it were.......

[CompassRose]

I don't have one, but my friend does. She's also lost teeth from night grinding...

She says she has frequent dreams about chewing gum, and trying to pull the gum from her mouth, and then waking up with the guard either clutched in her hand or under her pillow.

She also grinds her teeth despite the guard. She's cracked two guards, and just had to have another tooth pulled because it split down into the root. :(

[lindrusso]

I don't have one, but my friend does. She's also lost teeth from night grinding...

She says she has frequent dreams about chewing gum, and trying to pull the gum from her mouth, and then waking up with the guard either clutched in her hand or under her pillow.

She also grinds her teeth despite the guard. She's cracked two guards, and just had to have another tooth pulled because it split down into the root. :(

Oh my - she must really grind!

I'm so hoping this will help. I've lost teeth to bone loss and I also have a few that are cracked but fixable. And that doesn't even have anything to do with my one bridge I have in because of a malformed permanent tooth and another tooth that is a baby tooth that has never fallen out but probably will eventually. My mouth is so messed up! If this doesn't help I figure I'll be in dentures in a few years........... :rolleyes: :eek: :o

[Luiza]

I've had an NTI device a few years ago, and I didn't unfortunately have a good experience with it. After the adjustment period the NTI really did work like magic-- my headaches reduced drastically. The only downside was that I could feel my bite changing, but my dentist reassured me that it's just the jaw relaxing into its proper position and any serious bite changes can be resolved by adjusting the bite occasionally. After a year the headaches and the bite troubles worsened, and I bit through the NTI (I'm a clencher, not a grinder). By that point I had moved back to my old city and saw my previous dentist, who was absolutely astounded to notice that my front teeth no longer touch; somehow, my back teeth extruded and I developed a 3mm gap between my front teeth. Because of this large gap, and the fact that my teeth already had plenty of cracks and hence are very sensitive, there could be no bite adjustment drastic enough to even halfway fix this. Looks like the only answer is expensive orthodontics :(

Now I should point out that my case is quite extreme -- I've talked to a few specialists, and nobody could believe the extent of the damage in such a short period of time. It's even possible that the appliance did position the jaw joints properly and in so doing exposed the total inadequacy of my bite. For myself though, there is no doubt that I'm worse off now than before trying the NTI. My advice would be to be vigilant towards bite changes and take action as soon as you become uncomfortable with them; however, chances are you won't have a problem and the NTI will work well for you.

[TieKitty]

I've had one for several years. I haven't worn it recently though. I would wake up in the AM and would have to look for it. I apparently took it out in the middle of the night. I agree that they are uncomfortable but the worse part of it was....excuse me...the drool.:eek:

I do find that if I've been clenching my teeth during the day and my teeth seem to hurt (probably the gums) it makes them feel better to wear it.

[lindrusso]

Luiza - Sorry to hear your experience wasn't a good one. My bite actually seems more in line after wearing it a few days. I think I was doing some weird things with my mouth at night - I would sometimes wake up and find my mouth clenched, but sort of in a crossbite or something. I think that putting pressure on the wrong teeth was making them sort of push up out of alignment or something. I feel like my teeth are closing on the back teeth instead of hitting on some of my front teeth. That's a good thing!

I agree that they are uncomfortable but the worse part of it was....excuse me...the drool.:eek:

I was really worried about that part! :o But so far I haven't woken up soaked or anything. :o

[LakeMartinGal]

I wore a bite plate for years -- an appliance made out of retainer material, and hard like that... it fit over my top teeth to prevent clenching. I finally broke it in the washer after 20 years!:eek: (It was in my pj pocket:rolleyes: )

Now, I use a $1 sports mouth guard, ok'd by my dentist. It was a little bulky at first, and I couldn't close my lips over it, but DH used his Dremel tool on it, and now it's great... I replace it every couple of years.

My problem was clenching, and this prevents it... I occasionally take it out during sleep, but it really has helped my headaches better than the hard plastic one I was using before! That one, I would sometimes have to wear during the day (lovely!:rolleyes: ) and this one is just a night thing. Way easier on the teeth, too!

[stacy7272]

How timely - last night was my third night in my new nightguard. All I know was that I was having terrible jaw pain in my left side and, while the severity of pain would come and go, it had developed into a horrible bone grinding sound when I would do things like put on chapstick (rubbing my lips together). That's what prompted me to get the nightguard.

The thing is I don't seem to grind my teeth and I don't see how a nightguard will stop clenching, if that is what I do. Who knows. Things seem to have gotten better. I can almost fully open my mouth, I can yawn without much pain, and the grinding is gone. Maybe all the pain will go away soon, who knows.

It is pretty easy to sleep with - it is very much like a retainer that is a bit bulky in front. I can close my mouth with a bit of effort but I'm sure I don't sleep with my mouth closed because of it. No drooling but swallowing is harder. I'm hoping my jaw keeps getting better.

[lindrusso]

The thing is I don't seem to grind my teeth and I don't see how a nightguard will stop clenching, if that is what I do.

That's why some dentists favor the NTI - it is placed on your front teeth so that you cannot bite down with your back teeth. With a regular nightguard, you can still close your mouth and clench and while the nightguard may prevent you from grinding your teeth down, it does not prevent you from clenching.

[LakeMartinGal]

That's why some dentists favor the NTI - it is placed on your front teeth so that you cannot bite down with your back teeth. With a regular nightguard, you can still close your mouth and clench and while the nightguard may prevent you from grinding your teeth down, it does not prevent you from clenching.
But it does prevent your back teeth from touching, and, if the guard is more elastic than your teeth, it's less harmful to them. Some people just have a really hard time getting used to them...:) (I miss my italics!)

[stacy7272]

Yeah - they made sure that the only bottom teeth that touch my nightguard are my canines. But I don't see how that stops pressure in my jaw if I do a clenching motion. I'm sure it reduces the pressure but it doesn't get rid of it. Oh well. I'm trying not to get frustrated too soon.

[sararosalie]

I got it maybe 4 years ago and wore it off and on for a few years.

About two years ago my dentist told me that if I didn't start wearing it nightly, I would end up needing enough dental work to buy him a new boat. :eek:

So, I've been pretty regular with it since then. I don't know that it has changed my bite (and frankly I'm not sure if I'm a clencher or a grinder) but my jaw doesn't ache in the morning anymore and my teeth are in better shape.

I got the night guard when I was single and I called it "The Husband Repellant." Between the look of me in it and the drool issue.... :eek:

Luckily DH doesn't seem to mind it (provided I sleep on my own pillow).

Lindrusso--I hope yours works out!

[Valerie226]

I wear a regular night guard modified a bit and a orthodontic retainer on my lowers. I needed it to prevent wear on my front teeth.

the first one didn't fit. they ground it down and tinkered but I couldn't wear it for 15 minutes before yanking it out in misery. No way was I going to ever sleep one minute with it. so I took it back and a couple years later we agreed to try again, only this time I explained very precisely why the standard one did not fit. the tech listened carefully and made some sketches, and voila, the new guard fit & I've been wearing it for years. Even so it needed grinding to adjust. I don't know beans about dental appliances so just suggesting that it's your mouth & even small adjustments can make a tremendous difference on the fit of something inside your mouth. Maybe they can fine tune it a little especially if you can be specific. Good luck, I'd go thru a lot to keep my teeth in good shape.

[EmilyD]

I wear a guard at night to help prevent my clenching/grinding. In my family we were all "grinders" so I didn't think much of it but by the time I started college my teeth were showing wear (and my roommates were bothered by the noise to boot!). At the time I was just wearing the football mouth guard thing -- rubbery plastic that you put in boiling water to form to your mouth.

I was never too regular with wearing it in college until my boyfriend (now husband ;) ) started reminding me to put it in every night before we said good-bye (over the phone). So more or less, he always knew me with the mouth guard but we still joke about it's non-sexiness.

In my mid-20s my left jaw was starting to ache and my range of motion (yawning, enjoying juicy burgers) was affected. I mentioned it to my dentist and she referred me to a specialist and an orthodontist who teamed up to fit me with my bite plate. It seems that the sports guard I was wearing only encouraged me to clench harder, which is why my TMJ was getting worse. The rubber actually "gives" a little so my sleeping self would bite down even harder. Having the hard plate that's still softer than my teeth means I can bite & grind without damaging my teeth and the new position it keeps my mouth in also helps out. I had extensive orthodontia (braces, retainers, even the dreaded headgear) as a kid and I haven't had any change to my teeth/jaw/bite that are permanent, though I can see how some would be affected.

I now don't even like to nap without my mouth guard in and find it almost to be a subconcious trigger that it's time to go to sleep when I put it in. I actually have two now -- I ground the first enough that it cracked and I was fitted for a second one in anticipation of that one becoming unwearable. Three years later, I rotate between them and travel with the old one, just in case I lose it. I clean mine with the toothbrush every morning and put in a cup with denture cleaners a few times a week.

I too can't quite close my mouth with it in -- the best way to explain it is that I can't smoosh my lips together for the chapstick application with it in, though I can speak quite normally with it.

I hope that your NTI helps you and that you're able to adapt to it. I took me a while but now I really can't imagine sleeping without it. The few times I have slept without it for a long period of time (ie: on a plane trip) I could really feel the difference in my jaw and my husband heard the grinding.

ps -- if you're a grinder/clencher, you have bruxism (http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/bruxism/DS00337). this is one of those words I keep hoping I'll get to play in Scrabble someday! :p

[Luiza]

I feel like my teeth are closing on the back teeth instead of hitting on some of my front teeth. That's a good thing!

Definitely a good thing! :) I'm glad it seems to be working for you. I was reluctant to post my experience because the NTI works so well for so many people. But not all medical procedures work well on everybody, and it was my turn to be a strange case. I do have to say that in terms of preventing clenching during sleep, the NTI was the best of all the splints I tried. Pity that it became creative in its spare time! :p