Today’s post is sponsored by JS Dental Labs, but all thoughts and opinions are my own.
I woke up a little over a month ago with no voice and while it was cute to send my friends a video of my lip-syncing “Be Without You” by Mary J. Blige in the backseat of a Lyft, deep down I knew I had to do something about what was going on.
I’d had a case of sinusitis a few weeks prior and I thought it was coming back for round two, and it wasn’t until I went to see an ENT doctor who just so happened to have previous background in the dental field that I found out that I actually had a temporomandibular joint disorder (or what most people call “TMJ”). The temporomandibular joint is like a sliding hinge that connects your jawbone to your skull and you have one on each side of your face. Well the TMJ disorder I have was causing me SO MUCH pain on the left side of my face and it was visibly swollen. I was taking pain medication and alternating between ice and hot packs to help ease the pain. I had my medicine schedule down pat too, but all that did was put a Band-Aid on the situation. I gave up coffee for a few weeks and only drank tea with honey, and while that felt great and the green tea kept me energized through work, but it was only a Band-Aid. I was even told by my doctor that I would likely need to have dental surgery in the future but in the meantime, she recommended a night guard as a form of protection for my teeth against the TMJ related grinding.
My voice came back and I was able to tell a few people what was going on and one of my co-workers gave me a similar suggestion as the ENT doctor. She told me about JS Dental Lab, actually, she raved about them, and after doing some research of my own I was intrigued and wanted to see if they were as good as the hundreds of reviews said.
I’m no stranger to ordering customized items online. I’ve been ordering prescription glasses and sunglasses online for like a decade, so I went into this experience with a similar mentality. The price I was quoted from a few dentists was just a bit outside of what I felt comfortable paying for a supplemental form of protection for my teeth, and the custom night guard from JS Dental Lab was a fraction of that! In fact, I could’ve even ordered an upper and lower guard and still saved money going with JS Dental Lab instead of a local brick and mortar office. I decided to take a chance and reach out to them about a potential collaboration and they were just as excited to work with me as I was to work with them! And to be completely transparent, I can definitely see myself purchasing another guard once I’m finished with this one which could be in 1-5 years. Oh yeah, did I mention that their guards can last up to 5 years depending on how well you take care of them (cleaning and storing) and how hard you grind your teeth. Y’all, it kept getting better and better, and I hadn’t even received my impression kit yet!
Your order is essentially an all-in-one deal. JS Dental Lab will mail out the impression kit first, which contains three different sizes of trays as well as the putty you’ll need to make the impression and instructions. They can even send out different trays if none of the initial sizes work for you, and I think that’s pretty nice! So I got my Goldie Locks on and figured out which tray would work best for me and got to working on the mold mix. It took me about 15 seconds to get the putty together and in the appropriate sized tray and then I had to hold the tray in my mouth for 4 minutes. I set a timer on my phone and no lie, it was the longest 4 minutes of my life but it was totally worth it! I let my mold harden for about an hour or so, put it in a Ziploc bag and sealed that along with my filled-out form where I selected which guard I wanted in the pre-labeled mailing pouch! Yeah, your initial fee pays for all of the shipping. I decided to do an upper since I felt that would be easiest for me but they offer lower guards as well as combo packs that are all budget-friendly. I mailed it off and waited for my custom nightguard to come in, but I didn’t have to wait long. Within 10 days (calendar, not business) my night guard was delivered and y’all it felt like Christmas morning! I was so excited to use it that night.
I’ve had retainers in the past, semi-permanent and removable ones so I kind of knew what to expect with a night guard but putting on this one felt like Cinderella with the glass slipper. It literally clicked in place and fit perfectly! I mean, I know that’s the whole point of getting a customized night guard but it’s one thing to read about it and understand how it’s supposed to work and to actually have it do that. I brushed my teeth and put it on about 2 hours before bedtime just to give myself some time to adjust to it, but I honestly didn’t need much time to adjust. It’s not super thick so I was able to talk normally and drink water normally. What’s so dope is that not only did they send me my guard, but they sent me a storage container for the guard when I’m not wearing it, a cleaning brush and they even sent my mold back to me! This way I don’t need to do another one when I want to reorder, and if the guard didn’t fit properly I could’ve reached out to their customer service and gotten it adjusted for free. In fact, they offer free adjustments for a full year after your purchase. And if adjustments don’t work, you can return your guard for a complete refund or exchange it for a different night guard. That’s what I call great customer service!
I’ve been using my night guard daily for the past few days and I can already tell a difference. I’m no longer waking up with headaches or a sore jaw from grinding my teeth all night, and that’s after only a few days of use! I don’t know why I didn’t get a nightguard sooner, but I’m happy I have one now. I’ve already recommended JS Dental Lab to a few friends and family members so I knew that I had to share this with y’all. If you’re anything like me and have a habit of grinding your teeth at night, or even during the day because they have a daily wear one as well, do yourselves a favor and get one of these guards. You will not be disappointed with their product or customer service!
This post was a collaborative effort – please check out my disclosure policy page for more details.