Whenever there is a discussion about sore jaw, restless night and sports, there has to be a discussion about mouth guards. Mouth guard is a solid piece of plastic whose main purpose is to provide protection to the teeth in a number of circumstances. If there is a risk of damage to the teeth due to grinding or accidental injuries, you can get a mouth guard. You can also use a kind of mouth guard when you have trouble sleeping due to obstructed airflow problem in the throat.

When we talk about mouth guards, we usually talk about the types from the perspective of quality. The first type is the one that you get from the store and start using. These are over-the-counter mouth guards. These mouth guards do not fit quite well in the mouth. From quality point of view, these mouth guards lie at the bottom of the list. However, these are the cheapest ones you can get. The second type is called “boil and bite”. Boil and bite, as the name suggests is the one you can get from the store and use it after boiling. After boiling it, you will need to bite it in order to transform its shape to meet your needs. It takes the shape of your teeth when you bite it. This mouth guard is slightly expensive as compared to over-the-counter mouth guards. The third kind of mouth guard is the customized one. This mouth guard is not available at drugstores. If you want to get it, you will have to ask your dentist to get it prepared for you. This mouth guard may be the most expensive one but it is the top quality piece you can get to protect your teeth.

From the perspective of why you may need a mouth guard, there are a few types of mouth guards that you may like to know about.

- The first type to talk about is the sports mouth guard. Since sportspersons are more likely to get injury on their teeth, they need protection. And this protection comes from no other than a mouth guard. This is because of the fact that a sport can cause injury to the teeth from every action you perform.

- Another type of mouth guard is the night guard. This mouth guard is required when you have the habit of grinding your teeth. For those who do not know how dangerous the grinding of teeth can be, it is the practice which can lead to worn out chewing surface of teeth. This wearing out can lead to the exposure of tooth dentin and eventually a part of tooth pulp which consists of alive nerves and vessels. Wearing a night guard can help in keeping the teeth safe from wearing out.

- The last type of mouth guard is the one which can help you treat sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is the condition which happens due to obstructed airflow due to expansion of soft tissues in the throat area. When there is an obstruction, the person starts snoring. This condition can be lead to affected sleep quality and other serious health issues. Mouth guard used for treating sleep apnea is prepared to keep upper jaw in forward position. This forward position of upper jaw can help in keeping the airway opened.