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I grind my teeth at night pretty bad so I have a night guard. I use the fizzing denture cleaning tablets and brush the night guard with my toothbrush -- It doesn't taste bad when I put it in, but in the morning my breath is wretched, significantly worse than sleeping without the night guard. I would prefer to go without the horrible halitosis, but unfortunately chipping teeth in my sleep isn't any less desirable.

How can I reduce the rank morning breath I experience after wearing a night guard?

Edit: This isn't something my wife has, kindly let me know about or anything, it's just that bad that I can notice on my own. When you can smell your own morning breath, it's pretty bad. :(

MANEESH MOHAN
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Sidney
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  • Have you asked your dentist (or wherever you go for your medication) for treatment against fungi? I suspect they exist on the guard but if your cleaning tabs are also working agains that, they might be housed in your body and needing strong medication. – Willeke Sep 24 '17 at 16:46
  • I recently started using a night guard and encountered the same issue. Tried sleeping without it and there is a noticeable difference. I tried using mouthwash as well after I brush my teeth and it didn’t help. I use the cleaning tablets every morning and brush it afterwards with my toothbrush. I even tried cleaning the guard with toothpaste and that didn’t help with. I am wondering if you ever found a good solution. – Mary Brandow Nov 10 '22 at 17:53

2 Answers2

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Assuming your dental professional that gave you the night guard has excluded any other teeth or gum related problem or even more serious and 'deeper' problems: then bad breath is most likely caused by bacteria doing their living in your mouth and particularly on your tongue. Apart from brushing your teeth and flossing before night time you might want to add a mouth wash and especially a tongue cleaner to make life harder for those unwanted companions.

LаngLаngС
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I hope, cause of your situation is bad smelt teeth. Since, teeth with bad smell can be because of many reasons, you should make a reasearch on the following to find out where you are going wrong. Find it out, rectify it and it will be the best solution for your bad smelt teeth. I expect no change even if you use a night guard or so.

  • Sleep on your side, rather than your back, to avoid snoring.
  • Practicing Good Dental Hygiene
  • Adjusting Your Sleeping Habits
  • Adjusting Your Diet
  • Seeking Medical Care
MANEESH MOHAN
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  • But I understood there is no problem with bad smells without the 'night guard', correct? – Flint Sep 21 '17 at 08:14
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    However thinking about it you may be right and the 'night guard' only makes a general problem more noticeable. Maybe using a mouth wash (like listerine) in addition to brushing teeth at night could reduce the problem. – Flint Sep 21 '17 at 08:23
  • @Flint yes, you are right, night guard makes it more noticeable, but I think here we should focus more on the real cause than mere re-placement of the night guard, don't we? – MANEESH MOHAN Sep 21 '17 at 08:57
  • Yes, I agree. I can not imagine the material of the night guard to be the problem itself. It probably just provides a better breeding ground for the wrong kind of bacteria that are already there. I also agree with the list of things to look at although I think it might be difficult to find a good and easy way for a 'proof of concept'. – Flint Sep 21 '17 at 09:09
  • @Flint, yes, just as vast as sea is, there can be that much possible causes too – MANEESH MOHAN Sep 21 '17 at 09:28
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    This answer does not cover the point that the OP mentions is the main problem, the guard. -1. (Change of habit, leaving the guard out, is not good for the teeth and not a solution.) – Willeke Sep 21 '17 at 16:06
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    I've been sleeping with a night guard for the same reason for about a year and this hasn't been a problem for me. Perhaps the guard is exacerbating an existing unrelated issue. –  Sep 23 '17 at 07:24