A mouthguard to prevent my crowns from cracking from my epilepsy.

January 21, 2010 – 11:17 pm

I have epilepsy, just partial seizures, and I also have a mouthguard, one of those that sticks out of my mouth, beyond my front teeth. I have crowns on my front teeth, the upper ones. I was wondering if this mouthguard is good for these crowns, or if it will crack them. If I didn’t have epilepsy and just had bruxism, will this mouthguard crack my crowns too? Also I was wondering if the mouthguards that are sold in stores, like the ones that you form to your upper teeth, are any good. Won’t these crack your crowns too? Thank you for your help on these subjects. Respectfully, Julie from Wisconsin. 

Dear Julie,
The mouthguard, if it is put in right, will protect your porcelain crowns from cracking during a seizure or from bruxism or other physical contact.

The mouthguards you can buy in the stores and then you heat them and apply them to your teeth, those usually work just fine, though I would have your dentist check the fit afterward to make sure they will give you adequate protection. Or you can have a custom mouthguard made by your dentist, and this will offer the surest protection but will be more expensive. For bruxism we usually make hard flat splits that snap on your teeth. For epilepsy it may be a softer material that will cushion better. But either one will work.

Other links:
Read about bulimia and teeth damage.