Dental - Bite plate/Night Guard

Mine is definitely not soft - the dentist (US) did the horrible metal plate with the gummy stuff in it that pressed up against my upper teeth.  About 2 weeks later they had the mouthguard ready for me.  It is hard plastic stuff and luckily/amazingly I haven't bitten through it or lost it yet.  It was covered under my insurance at the time but I'm guessing there's no way I'd have gotten it for less than a couple hundred dollars....

http://www.webmd.com/content/article/66/79627.htm

\this explains the diff between simple mouth gaurds and Bite plates for nighttime.Should be a big price diff between the 2.

my UK dentist says mine will be about £360. ouch!

If you become desperate for a bite guard and can't afford one at the time.. you can get one of those shields that boys use to guard their teeth during football..

There are instructions that come with them.. you have to place them in warm/hot water and then place in your mouth to let it mold to your mouth....

Want to know something that will make you angry? Guess how much they actually cost to make? About $115 and they charge $500...nice profit eh? Luckily, I have a family friend that is a dentist so I get a deal.
In any case, I bought one before I left (the hard type that is specially made) and recently was told by my dentist here (Glasgow) that they would make one for £60. 
In all honesty, even if I knew that before I left I would have bought my American one (even if I had to pay full price)because I have no idea what the quality is like here.  I have horrible night grinding and need to have it.

http://www.webmd.com/content/article/66/79627.htm

\this explains the diff between simple mouth gaurds and Bite plates for nighttime.Should be a big price diff between the 2.

Sorry, but the price difference is the fact that dentists feel they can make a nice profit off of them because people will pay (even though most insurances DON'T pay for nightguards).  

Like I said in my previous post, they are not that expensive to make at all.  

Dave just got another custom molded one for 60 quid.....he has his teeth mold still and they used that one

i have a hard one from the US, and paid $450.00 for it years ago.  But as i had braces and wore retainters it not only helps my grinding but keeps my top teeth in line like my braces set them to be!

I'm bumping this thread because while it did answer some questions, my main one is how does a bite plate help with clenching? I think I've been clenching my teeth at night and this morning I actually woke up with a sore jaw. I'm afraid I might grind my teeth too because my teeth were sore. I did used to grind my teeth as a little kid, but I stopped. None of my dentists have ever seen it as being a problem with my teeth. Since I've moved here I think it's started up again. I guess I'm curious how the bite plate helps with clenching because don't you kind of have to keep your teeth clenched to keep it in?

You don't have to keep you're teeth clenched to keep it in, though I think it may naturally happen because it's in your mouth.  The principle behind the bite plate is to protect your teeth, so if you grind, it doesn't wear down your enamel and cause recession in gums (which is what grinding can do).  It's a good question though about how it would make you stop grinding, because for me it hasn't. I've ground through 3 bite plates over a period of 10 years. I also don't know how it protects your jaw either, aside from possibly cushioning the impact from grinding.

Yes I don't think the point is to stop you from clenching/grinding your teeth.  It's meant to protect your teeth against the effects of those. 

But as Smootie said, it doesn't really require you to clench your jaws to keep the guard in - it is molded to your teeth so it fits very closely up against your jaw.  I would think otherwise it might fall out when you're asleep.  Even so mine sometimes come out and I will find it under my pillow or something.  I think I take it out in my sleep.

Hmmm...okay. If the bite guard doesn't stop you from clenching, does anyone have any ideas on how to stop it?? It hurts!

Alcohol? 

Seriously, actually my brother-in-law was told by his dentist to drink a beer before bed to relax.    As if he needs another excuse to drink.

My dentist said mine's all stress related.  Which I believe is true. 

 

I believe mine is stress related as well, since I haven't done it for oh, 20 years! Guess I should bump up the yoga and head down to the shop for a 6 pack!

Hmmm...okay. If the bite guard doesn't stop you from clenching, does anyone have any ideas on how to stop it?? It hurts!

I used to clench, or maybe I still do?  I just went to a sporting goods store and got one of those guards you heat and mould to your teeth.  I used it for a few months and then stopped, but when I moved over here I started clenching again so I bought another one.  It cost a pound at SportsWorld.  So if you don't want to spend a lot of money at the dentist yet, you could try that. 

I have a cheap mouth guard that you boil and got it at CVS, but that's big and bulky.

I have invisilign retainers from when i got my braces off that are kind of like Amy said, they protect my teeth and keep them in line. Only problem is it doesn't reach all the way to my back teeth.

The cheaper one from CVS doesn't stay in as well as the invisilign ones, but those were custom fitted at my dentist and I would have to pull them out at night to lose them.