Mouth Guard question

[Poddi]

My dentist talked me into a custom mouth guard. I don't grind my teeth at night (and DH said I'm a totally silent sleeper). I do know I clench them sometimes. We're doing this mostly because my tooth that had a root canal a few weeks ago just wouldn't totally heal, she thought it's because I clench my teeth and put too much pressure on the sore tooth.

I was wondering if this stuff is safe or not. I will wear it for sure until my tooth feels normal again. Do I have to use it after that? Is clenching bad as well? I don't have too much wear on my teeth and have no sign of cracks/chips.

[kdtmom2be]

I wear one, religiously, and I'm a clencher. I'm sure that there are chemicals that leach from the mouth-gaurds, they ARE plastic after all. However, the minute risk that that presents to me versus the splitting headaches that I get instead make it worth it for me to wear it. If your clenching isn't affecting your life, i.e. no problems with your teeth, no persistent headaches, jawaches, etc, then I would say NO, you don't have to wear it.