How To Treat Bruxism: This Gadget Changed Everything for Me

For most of my life, I have suffered from nighttime bruxism. I have tried various materials, multiple products, and even gone as far as making my own in our office lab. Nothing lasted long, fit well, or gave me enough occlusal clearance to be effective.

Christina Cracknell, RDA

Then Troy Schmedding, DDS, owner of Family Dentistry of Walnut Creek in California, introduced me to GrindRelief® PRO. It was easy to form to my mouth and had a comfortable fit, and I began to see results almost immediately. My jaw pain began to subside, along with my teeth sensitivity, and much to my surprise, I felt relief in my upper shoulders and neck. It’s been wonderful to wake up in the morning feeling refreshed and pain free.

Troy Schmedding, DDS

Now, anytime a patient comes into our office with the signs and symptoms of potential bruxism, we can offer the convenience of GrindRelief PRO. It’s easily fitted by the doctor, hygienist, or auxiliary, so in a matter of minutes, we can provide immediate help to our patients without the need for impressions, models, lab fees, and a follow-up appointment before we can begin to help our struggling patient. GrindRelief PRO allows us the ability to immediately begin the diagnostic evaluation and determine if it is the proper treatment and/or long-term prothesis of choice.

Compared with the devices that we have had made by the laboratory, GrindRelief PRO is very economical, provides the same clinical results, and is cleared by the US Food and Drug Administration. Should the dentition change over time (growing children) or should we deliver other restorations/prosthetics to the patient, GrindRelief PRO can be refitted in a matter of a few minutes, which is much faster and easier to do than with other devices.

Case Study

Note: The outer surface of GrindRelief PRO is flat and smooth, and the inner surface contains a moldable thermoplastic material suitable for adaptation to patient’s tooth surface (Figure 1). See Figures 2 to 10 for additional details on the basic steps for preparing/fitting GrindRelief PRO in approximately 10 minutes or less. In our practice, Dr Schmedding is the diagnostician, and then I, the assistant, take it from there.

Figure 11 shows the retracted cheek to verify posterior disclusion.

GrindRelief PRO is available directly from Grind Guard Technologies, LLC, at grindreliefpro.com.