Mouth guards range from about $20 for a basic store-bought option to $500 or more for a custom guard made by a dentist. Where you land in that range depends on why you need one, whether it’s for grinding your teeth at night, playing contact sports, or protecting dental work like braces.
Store-Bought Mouth Guards: $10 to $30
The cheapest option is a stock mouth guard, which comes in preset sizes and requires no fitting at all. These run about $10 to $15 at most pharmacies and sporting goods stores. They work in a pinch for recreational sports but tend to feel bulky and loose, which makes breathing and talking harder than it needs to be.
A step up from stock guards is the boil-and-bite style, which typically costs $20 to $30. You soften it in hot water, then bite down to mold it roughly to your teeth. The fit is better than a stock guard, but the materials are thinner and less durable. For teeth grinding, these guards often wear down within a few months, so replacement costs add up. The American Association of Orthodontists notes that over-the-counter guards use cheaper materials to keep production costs low, and the limited customization means they may not distribute bite pressure evenly across your teeth.
Mail-Order Custom Guards: $120 to $200
Direct-to-consumer companies offer a middle ground between drugstore guards and dentist-made ones. The process typically involves ordering an impression kit, making a mold of your teeth at home, and mailing it back. The company then fabricates a guard from your impression and ships it to you. Prices from major online providers generally fall between $120 and $200. ClearClub, for example, lists custom night guards starting at $164 and custom sports guards at $123.
These guards use higher-quality materials than boil-and-bite versions, and the fit is noticeably better because they’re made from a mold of your actual teeth. The trade-off is that no dental professional examines your bite or jaw alignment before fabrication. If your grinding is caused by an uneven bite or a jaw joint issue, a mail-order guard might not address the underlying problem. For straightforward teeth grinding without complications, though, many people find these a solid value.
Dentist-Made Custom Guards: $300 to $800
A custom mouth guard from a dentist is the most expensive option, with most people paying somewhere between $300 and $800 depending on the type and the dental practice. The process starts with a dental exam, followed by precise impressions or digital scans of your teeth. A dental lab then fabricates the guard from professional-grade materials, and your dentist adjusts the fit at a follow-up appointment.
What you get for that price is a guard that matches the exact contours of your teeth and accounts for your specific bite pattern. For people who grind heavily at night (bruxism), this matters because poorly distributed pressure can crack teeth, wear down enamel, or aggravate jaw pain. Dentist-made guards also tend to last significantly longer than cheaper alternatives, often two to five years with proper care, which can offset the higher upfront cost over time.
Sports guards made by a dentist fall into a similar price range and are particularly worth considering for athletes with braces, bridges, or other dental work that a generic guard can’t accommodate.
What Dental Insurance Covers
Coverage varies widely by plan and by the reason you need the guard. Many dental insurance plans cover part of the cost of a night guard for bruxism, treating it as a medically necessary appliance rather than an elective purchase. The TRICARE Dental Program, for instance, covers one occlusal guard every 12 months for members 13 and older. Private plans often cover 50% to 80% of the cost after your deductible, though some plans cap reimbursement or limit you to one guard every few years.
Sports mouth guards are less commonly covered by dental insurance, since they’re considered preventive rather than treatment for a diagnosed condition. If your plan doesn’t cover a guard or you’re paying out of pocket, it’s worth knowing that night guards for teeth grinding are listed as an eligible expense under flexible spending accounts (FSAs) and health savings accounts (HSAs). That means you can pay with pre-tax dollars, effectively saving 20% to 35% depending on your tax bracket.
Choosing the Right Price Point
Your decision comes down to what the guard needs to do and how long you need it to last. For a child playing a season of recreational soccer, a $15 boil-and-bite guard is perfectly reasonable. For an adult grinding through a stressful period who isn’t sure the habit will continue, a mail-order custom guard in the $150 range offers a good fit without the commitment of a dental visit. For chronic, heavy grinding that’s already causing jaw pain, worn enamel, or cracked teeth, the investment in a dentist-made guard pays for itself quickly when you consider that a single dental crown can cost $1,000 or more.
Regardless of what you spend, replace your guard when it shows visible wear, holes, or thinning. A worn-out guard, no matter how much it cost originally, stops doing its job.