Good News For Teeth Grinders Everywhere

Tooth grinding or clenching is a very common issue affecting up to half a million Irish people on a daily basis. The nightly grinding of teeth goes far beyond that of a minor inconvenience. This can be a chronic condition, leading to severe facial pain and headaches, dental wear and damage to dental restorations such as crowns, veneers and implants. The cost of repairing teeth damaged by bruxism can run into the thousands or even tens of thousands over time but can be greatly reduced by wearing a night guard (splint). Unfortunately, because bruxism mainly occurs at night, many patients don’t realise that they are grinding. Some don’t use the splints appropriately and the tooth damage and long”term repair costs continue to mount. SmartSplint will be able to deliver up to date, personalised information about bruxism right to the patient’s phone and help them to understand their condition better and perhaps point to how they could modify their lifestyles to reduce how much they grind. Now a new Irish company has unveiled a novel intelligent mouth guard device called SmartSplint, which accurately records and monitors teeth grinding (bruxism) of patients and allows their dentists to help them manage the condition more effectively.