The Best Night Guards for Grinding Teeth (2024)

• Our Picks

• How We Selected

• What to Look For

• FAQ

• Why Trust Verywell Health

One of the toughest parts of choosing a night guard for yourself is figuring out which type you need. Should you pick hard or soft? Thin or thick? And how hard, exactly, do you grind your teeth at night, anyway?

The Hybrid Night Guard from Chomper Labs gets our best overall pick because it eliminates the need for you to have all these questions answered. Its unique hybrid design means you get the best of both worlds, with a hard exterior to protect against even heavy grinding and a soft interior that gently conforms to your teeth. It also sits in the middle as far as thickness goes at 2.5 millimeters, neither the thinnest nor the thickest option available at Chomper Labs.

As far as everything else, we like the business model of Chomper Labs: This mail-order company sends you an impression kit for free, complete with instructions and a prepaid return mailer, then turns your night guard around in an impressive amount of time (you should get it back about a week after they receive your impression). Chomper Labs also promises to keep tweaking your night guard, free of charge, until it fits exactly right, and also offers a 100-day return policy and six-month warranty for damage.

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Material: Polyester/EVA | Coverage: Upper and/or lower}

If you like the idea of working with a mail-order company to receive a customized night guard but want to keep the cost under $100, the Dual Laminate Sporting Smiles night guard is a more affordable alternative to the hybrid night guard from Chomper Labs. It features the same hard-on-the-outside but soft-on-the-inside style of construction, which makes it appropriate for moderate grinding and clenching, though it is just a little bit thicker at 3 millimeters.

What really makes this night guard our best budget pick—on top of its lower base cost—is the fact that you can add extra or backup night guards onto your order upfront and save money. Instead of buying two separate guards at $95 a piece, for example, you can add an extra for only $50.

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Material: Laminate/EVA | Coverage: Upper and/or lower}

Buying and wearing a night guard when you also have braces can be difficult, and in many cases, a professionally-fit night guard from your dentist or orthodontist is the best way to go. When you have braces, your mouth is changing all the time; a professional fitting allows you to get exactly what you need without damaging your braces is often the best approach, says Jaclyn Tomsic, MD, oral and maxillofacial surgeon at Ohio’s Center for Oral, Facial, and Implant Surgery.

But having to get a brand new night guard from your dentist every few months can get pretty expensive. If that’s not for you, we suggest signing up for the night guard subscription plan at ClearClub: Not only are the night guards more affordably-priced than they are through a dentist, but you can save a good deal of money by subscribing to a renewal plan upfront.

With a renewal plan, ClearClub will send you a new night guard every three, four, or six months for less than a one-time purchase. A new impression wouldn’t be necessary each time, but if your braces are changing the shape of your teeth frequently, you can make a new impression and always have a night guard that fits your current mouth. Finally, we love that ClearClub offers cool multi-color night guards, sure to appeal to the tween and teen braces-wearing set.

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Material: Acrylic/EVA | Coverage: Upper and/or lower}

If you’re not interested in fussing with an impression kit that you have to send back to a company before sitting around and waiting to receive your night guard, you can custom-fit a night guard for yourself right at home with the Dentek Professional-Fit Dental Guard kit. This is a “boil and bite” type of mold that’s often sold OTC, and the process is simple: You heat the dental guard in a forming tray, wait for it to cool down a bit, then bite down onto the night guard in the tray to make an impression of your teeth. Once the guard has cooled and hardened, you have a customized device to wear right away.

This is an option that’s both affordable and convenient, but keep in mind that it’ll never be quite as comfortable as a mail-order night guard or one fitted through your dentist’s office. These types of night guards are often bulkier than others, too, but we chose the Dentek because it’s designed to have a slimmer profile and be less awkward in your mouth. It also guarantees six months of wear without damage (or you can contact Dentek for a refund).

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Material: Unspecified plastic | Coverage: Upper}

Grinding and clenching your teeth may not only happen while you’re sleeping—stress and anxiety can cause you to grind during the daytime, too. Although there are other ways to cope with daytime grinding, like meditation and relaxation techniques, sometimes you just need to be able to pop a dental guard in your mouth to protect your teeth. Some people may also use a night guard like this during the day to prevent cheek or nail biting.

We recommend the Daytime Ultra Thin Night Guard from Chomper Labs if this sounds like you. Because it was designed with daytime wear in mind, it’s significantly thinner than other night guards (only 0.8 millimeters) so it won’t interfere with your speech. The hard plastic is comfortable and discreet, protecting your teeth while staying in place. You can also choose whether to fit the guard for your upper or lower teeth, depending on what’s more comfortable for you during the day.

Some retailers offer discounts for replacement guards, the cost is $120 at Chompers Lab, just $30 shy of the original price.

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Material: Polyester/EVA | Coverage: Upper and/or lower}

If you know you’re putting a ton of stress and strain on your teeth at night while you sleep, you need to step up your night guard game—and the Pro Teeth Hard Night Guard is the strong defense you need against heavy nighttime grinding and clenching.

Made from elasticized acrylic, this hard night guard is about 1.5 millimeters thick, so even though it’s tough on grinding, it’s not overly bulky or uncomfortable to wear while you sleep. We also like that the acrylic construction allows the night guard to be firm and protective but still somewhat flexible: Pro Teeth says that you can soak or rinse the night guard in warm water before inserting it if you need to slightly adjust the fit. Finally, Pro Teeth suggests this night guard may be able to last anywhere from two to five years, making it an ultra-durable option on top of its other benefits.

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Material: Elasticized acrylic | Coverage: Upper and/or lower}

Maybe you only grind your teeth when you travel or when you’re sick, or maybe you’re getting some dental work done and don’t want to cause any unnecessary damage while you sleep. Whatever the reason, there may be a time when you just need occasional protection against grinding and clenching, and these disposable night guards by Plackers may be the perfect temporary solution.

These partial coverage night guards are ready to be used right out of the box, no shaping or trimming required (which is good in some cases, but they won’t give you any kind of customized fit). They’re designed to keep your back teeth separated with a small bite plate, so they don’t need to be fitted over every single one of your teeth; this reduces the possibility of irritation and discomfort.

You get 16 disposable mouth guards in each package, but each one can be used for up to three nights for a maximum of 48 nights of coverage. We also like that they have a unique reversible design, which makes them work for either your upper or lower teeth.

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Material: Unspecified plastic | Coverage: Upper or lower}

If you don’t like the idea of sticking a piece of plastic into your mouth that covers all the teeth on your upper or lower jaw, we get it. That’s why we chose the Brux Night Guard as our best pick for the minimalists, i.e. the people who just want a little bit of extra grinding protection without all the traditional night guard coverage.

The Brux Night Guard is designed to fit over your front teeth on either the upper or lower jaw; in doing so, it holds your mouth open just enough to keep your back teeth apart, ensuring that none of your teeth will come into contact with one another while you sleep. We also like that the Brux is fitted at home, with a boil and bite customization process, and can actually be remolded at home in the same way any time you need to change or update your fit. It’s a bit bulkier than other night guard options, but since it only covers a small section of your teeth, it may still be more comfortable for some users than a full upper or lower guard.

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Material: Unspecified plastic | Coverage: Upper and/or lower}

Frequently Asked Questions

• What is the best way to clean a night guard?

  You can take a simple approach, rinsing your night guard with warm water and a designated toothbrush. You can also use oral cleaning tablets weekly or monthly to cleanse and disinfect your night guard, said Matt Asaro, DDS, of Asaro Dental Aesthetics in Los Angeles, California. He recommends a product like Retainer Brite, available on Amazon.

  Just keep in mind that if you choose to brush your night guard with a toothbrush, it should be a separate one you only use for cleaning your night guard. As Kalasho said, using your regular toothbrush can cause staining.

• How long does it take for a night guard to work?

  It’s important to understand exactly what a night guard does for bruxism, said Asaro: “Night guards don’t correct any symptoms…it won’t make you stop grinding, it will only protect the teeth during sleep.”

  In other words, you shouldn’t be waiting around for weeks for your night guard to stop you from grinding your teeth—it won’t actually do that at all! But it will start protecting your teeth from your grinding and clenching right away, starting the first night you put it in. Soon after that, you should notice a decrease in any bruxism symptoms you were having, like jaw pain or headaches, as your sore muscles relax, recover, and heal.

• Which is better, a hard or soft night guard?

  It depends on how severely you grind or clench your teeth at night, said Tomsic: “Patients with more severe grinding and clenching typically use a hard night guard, [while] people with mild bruxism, or isolated clenchers but not grinders, [can] use a soft night guard.”