Orthotics

What are Orthotics?

Dental orthotics are appliances used during the day or night and help to assess, protect and relieve jaw and muscular pain. We can create custom fitted orthotics to protect your teeth, jaws and health based on your condition.

Why do I need an Orthotic?

Most commonly, jaw pain is due to excessive muscular tension caused by grinding or clenching of teeth. After assessing the health of your teeth and jaws, we can create a strong, long lasting orthotic device which can help us assess the severity of any clenching or grinding, protect your teeth against damage from strong jaw muscles, and relieve any excessive muscular tension causing pain.

How often should I wear my Orthotic?

Using your orthotic on a nightly basis allows your jaw muscles, which were tense and in spasm, to relax. This occurs by reducing the load on your jaw joint and muscles, much like keeping weight off a rolled ankle. This allows healing of the affected areas, and allows your lower jaw to reposition itself to a more relaxed position. Ongoing adjustment of your orthotic may be required to accommodate this new relaxed jaw position.

I snore or breathe through my mouth while I sleep. Should I wear an Orthotic?

We may recommend a sleep study or referral to an ear nose and throat specialist before constructing your orthotic to rule out the presence of any airway or sleep breathing problem. In some cases, these conditions may require a specially made snoring device which may improve your sleep quality. This may replace the orthotic you would otherwise have worn; we would rather you find this out before purchasing your orthotic!