Retainer on lower teeth + mouthguard on upper teeth?
Hi everyone! I (29F) have a thin "hard-plastic" retainer for my lower teeth that I wear at night to maintain the correct alignment of my teeth. It was professionally made by my dentist using a 3D intraoral scan, so it fits perfectly and doesn’t bother me at all.
The problem is that I’ve noticed I sometimes clench my teeth during sleep, and I can already see marks starting to appear on the retainer around the molar area.
A few years ago I had a similar retainer, and it cracked in the molar area after about 1 or 2 years, probably for the same reason. I don’t have bruxism issues, I mainly just clench my jaw.
Given how expensive retainers are, I don't want to replace one every year. I was thinking about wearing one of those soft silicone mouthguards on my upper teeth together with my professional retainer, to prevent my molars from damaging or breaking it.
I know it probably wouldn’t be super comfortable (but I wore a Delaire mask and other orthodontic appliances for many years, so comfort isn’t a huge concern for me. I know I can sleep regardless lol. I can explain more about my medical/dental history if it's useful), but I’d like to know if this idea makes sense or if it could potentially cause problems or damage to my retainer or my actual teeth/jaw.
I was thinking about a mouthguard more or less like this one https://amzn.eu/d/006J8Rr7 , I don't want it to be molded on my upper teeth because I don't trust it. I just want a soft barrier between my retainer and my upper molars and this is the only one I found that seems to fit the bill, even if it's an anti-snoring device and I don't snore.
Maybe I could modify it so there's no material around my lower teeth where I have the retainer?
If you have better ideas I'm open!
Thank you so much!