Reviv vs. Custom Nightguard

How is Reviv different? Why is it better?

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A lot of folks have asked me if Reviv is different from a custom nightguard.

And my answer is yes for a few reasons.

But it takes awhile to explain.

And so it has come high time to write a post about it.

What is a ‘Custom Nightguard’?

This term is thrown around loosely and can have various meanings based on my experience.

First, what is it used for?

• Nighttime grinding or clenching

• TMJ (Temporomandibular Joint) dysfunction

• Protecting dental work like veneers, crowns, or implants

• Alleviating jaw or face muscle pain

What Makes It "Custom"?

• Made from a mold of your teeth (either at a dental clinic or via a mail-in kit)

• Fits perfectly to your bite, unlike generic or boil-and-bite guards

• Can be designed for top or bottom teeth, depending on your needs

What is it usually made from?

• Acrylic (hard)

• Dual-laminate (soft inside, hard outside)

• Flexible medical-grade plastics

Where do you get one?

There are two main ways:

1. Your Dentist (In-Office Custom Nightguard)

• Best for: Maximum accuracy, dental supervision

• How it works: They take an impression of your teeth and send it to a lab

• Price: 💰 $300–$800 (often not covered by insurance)

2. Online Custom Nightguard Services

• Best for: Lower cost, convenience, home delivery

• How it works: They mail you a mold kit → you bite into it → mail it back → get your guard within 1–2 weeks

• Popular brands:

  • Remi – ~$150 (subscriptions available)

  • Cheeky – ~$149

  • JS Dental Lab – ~$130–$200

  • SportingSmiles – ~$100–$150

How is it different from Reviv?

1st: Fitted to the teeth

• A custom night guard is fitted to the teeth whereas a Reviv is not. A Reviv is flat on the top and the bottom.

• Why I don’t like when something is fitted to the teeth? Because the teeth need to be able to move as I explain in this article below.

Teeth need to be able to move with the Reviv process

• Each day the teeth are uprighting a bit, untwisting, etc. How do I know? Because I was checking how occlusal contacts were changing each day during my experiments some years back with a ‘tracking splint’.

• And if the teeth are locked into a fixed position with the nightguard then it prevents a lot of this movement from happening.

2nd: Often indexed

• Many nightguards are ‘indexed’ a bit. Meaning they retain the shape of the teeth that they are covering. For example this lower guard pictured above retains the shape of the lower teeth.

• I don’t like this because the teeth will most likely come together with your upper teeth in a fixed position, thereby locking the jaw into that position.

• I much prefer when the top of the mouthguard is flat so that the upper teeth just sort of ‘skate’ over the top of it and don’t lock into a fixed position. This allows the jaw to move freely during the biomechanical recovery process.

3rd: Not as good of a stretch

• I used flat plane splints on and off for many years back in the day. And they’re a lot like custom nightguards except they are flat in how they contact the opposing teeth.

• And what I noticed was that I always progressed faster with a mouthguard like Reviv or Myobrace. Something about the way it engages the mouth and the jaw creates more of a stretch.

Closing thoughts

So there you have it. In my view a mouthguard like a Reviv (or Myobrace, Shockdoctor, etc) will always win out over a custom nightguard.

Does that mean a custom nightguard is bad for you?

Not necessarily. If it meets the following conditions than in my view it is ok:

• It should be a lower mouthguard (not upper) and should be flat on top (a ‘flat plane’).

• You should change it every few months to enable it to account for changes in your lower teeth. Because the lower teeth will move a bit with this process even if you are wearing the mouthguard on top of it. And by replacing the mouthguard in intervals you are allowing for continued movement.

Do I wear a custom mouthguard like this these days?

No. I don’t see any advantage to them.

They are more expensive, you need to change them more frequently, and they don’t work as fast.

There you have it.