Nightguards like the Comfort3D^™ Bite Splint or Comfort H/S^™ Bite Splint act as a protective barrier, preventing further damage to patients’ teeth. With these simple solutions available, it’s important to remember that preventive dental care isn’t about “scaring the patient into treatment compliance.” It’s about demonstrating your genuine care for their natural dentition and the significance of preserving it for as long as possible.

Another nightguard option for patients helps address a condition they might not even know you can help them with: snoring and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Using a nightguard is very effective in treating patients with sleep-disordered breathing, with a compliance rate shown to be as high as 90% over a 2.5-year period.¹ It is also associated with greater patient satisfaction than nasal continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy.² For an easy way to screen for patients in your practice who might benefit from a dental sleep appliance, consider using the STOP-BANG Questionnaire. This questionnaire can assess a patient’s risk for OSA and also help you introduce nightguards as a potential solution.

Dental sleep nightguards work by gently shifting the lower jaw forward to activate the airway muscles and ligaments to prevent the airway from collapsing. The Silent Nite^® 3D Sleep Appliance is a 3D-printed, custom-fitted nightguard that is adjustable in 0.5 mm increments, with up to 10 mm of advancement. With a fully digital workflow, the device offers maximum comfort for the patient and a simpler workflow for you. (Please note that all impressions must be submitted digitally to ensure maximum accuracy and speed; prescriptions via traditional impressions will be filled with a thermoformed Silent Nite appliance.) And provisional mandibular advancement devices (PMADs) make it easy on you to get the ball rolling: A provisional sleep nightguard can be prescribed to the patient immediately while they seek a medical diagnosis for their condition. Ultimately, being able to give a patient their life back with a better night’s sleep is an easy selling point for higher patient acceptance.

With over 30 million people in the U.S. suffering from migraines, you have an opportunity to help your patients get out of pain with a migraine prevention nightguard.³ Like dental sleep appliances, migraine prevention devices offer a unique opportunity to the millions of Americans who see a dentist annually, but not a physician.⁴ And just like the STOP-BANG Questionnaire to screen for potential OSA patients, migraine prevention therapy can begin with a simple screening question: Do you suffer from headaches or migraines?

While not all patients’ migraines are dental-related, those that are caused by jaw clenching can greatly benefit from an anterior disclusion nightguard like the FDA-cleared NTI-tss Plus^® migraine prevention device. The NTI-tss Plus is a non-pharmacological solution for tension-type headaches. It covers the anterior teeth on either the upper or lower arch, and its design keeps the posterior teeth and canines out of occlusion — reducing clenching intensity and protecting against tooth damage. Over one million devices have been prescribed, making it a product your patients can have faith in.

Overall, nightguards offer numerous benefits, from protecting teeth and dental work to improving sleep and preventing migraines. If your patients experience symptoms of bruxism, TMJ disorders, snoring, OSA, or migraines, it’s worth discussing nightguards as a treatment option for them. Taking this proactive step can lead to a healthier, more comfortable life for your patients, and greater opportunities to engage with them in the long term. Patient acceptance of nightguards begins with the realization that “selling” a solution isn’t nearly as effective as providing healthcare with compassion. When we make that the focus of our work, everyone wins.