I’ve been in denial my whole life that I grind my teeth. I’ve never suffered from TMJ pain, I sleep ridiculously well, and I certainly can’t be bothered by even the mention of a night guard.
Unfortunately, the last two dentists I’ve seen were pretty taken aback at how, uh, “well-worn” my teeth are. I like to say that I have the teeth of a hippo. Or, as I’ve recently discovered, the teeth of a Balinese person (click here to read about their coming-of-age tooth-filing rituals).
However, since I’d like to retain my teeth—particularly overseas—I relented and had a night guard made. It’s not so horrific after all. However, caring for it in the States was simple—brush it, rinse it, store it, pop it in again at night? How was I going to keep it clean in India, where I can’t rinse it properly and the case was sure to get icky, too?
The solution? This guy: the Brain Pad UV & ozone sanitizing case. It runs on 4 AAA batteries and has a 3 minute cycle; it purport to “leaves appliances 99.9% bacteria free” and you know what—I’ll take that .1% chance! Anything you can fit in here is fair game, from night guards and toothbrush heads to hearing aids and ear buds. I started using it at home before we left to check it out, and I ended up using it every night! It even took away the funky smell my night guard was getting despite faithful brushing.
The case runs around $33 and the bulb lasts for 3000+ hours. It’s not the most petite case in the world, but it worked well enough to earn a spot in my very small suitcase. If you have an appliance you keep in your mouth for hours and hours, whether or not you’re living in India, I highly recommend this case!
Update: 16 months later and the case is still going strong! I’ve been using an antibacterial essential oil blend once in a while to wipe down the inside of the case, but, beyond that, all systems are go!