Question from Brian
My dentist prescribed a night-guard for bruxism and the lab sent me the MSDS sheet and assured me the device was BPA free.
However, after reading the MSDS sheet for the main ingredients of the plastic/acrylic (Modified Ethyl Methacrylate Monomer and polymer), I found they have very similar toxic effects as BPA, including the following: Eye Causes irritation, skin irritation, absorbed through the skin, may cause sensitization by skin contact, irritating to mucous membranes and upper respiratory tract. Symptoms of exposure may include burning sensation, coughing, laryngitis, dyspnea, headache, nausea, vomiting, drowsiness, and unconsciousness. May cause sensitization by inhalation. Causes gastrointestinal irritation. May cause nervous system damage. Embryotoxic and/or foetotoxic in animal. To the best of our knowledge, the chemical, physical, and toxicity of this substance has not been fully investigated”.
Given the toxicity of the BPA free ingredients, are there any effective, non-toxic alternatives?
Debra’s Answer
I don’t know of any. Readers?
I just tried out my new soft nightguard. I paid $450+ for it and it has a chemical taste. I awoke about 90 minutes later with a congested, runny nose. I got up, pulled the nightguard out of my mouth and vomited. I haven’t vomited in about a decade. I suffer from allergies and I have irritable bowel syndrome. I am always careful about what I ingest … I make all of my own food from scratch mainly using organic agredients. As soon as I removed the nightguard, my runny nose and sinuses cleared. I am wondering if my nightguard is leaching something toxic. I used to wear a hard acrylic nightguard and it never bothered me. But my dentist prefers a soft nightguard for grinding. Has anyone had a similar experience to me? Does anyone have any recommendations? I don’t want to use the soft nightguard again.
You may want to look into whether vitamin deficiencies are contributing to or causing your bruxism. I dealt with it for years, then when I had some other health issues that were attributed to vitamin deficiencies (B vitamins in particular), and addressed them through supplementation, my bruxism almost completely stopped.
I too use a nightguard and share the same concerns. I’ve been using it for a year and a half and can’t stand to think of what I’m ingesting each night but I don’t know what my other options are other than grinding my teeth to nubs 🙁
If anyone knows of anything that would be amazing! 🙂
1. check for sleep apnea, which may be the underlying cause of the problem
2. Biofeedback (Amazon reviews: — One reviewer even created his own biofeedback machine!)
Have you looked into recipes for making it yourself? I have seen a number of DIY recipes using activated charcoal and other natural ingredients, but I suspect the ones I’ve seen aren’t waterproof. But maybe there are waterproof recipes as well? That way you could control what goes into it and make sure it’s safe and comfortable for you.