Do Anti-Snoring Mouthguards Actually Work

Yes. For most people who snore but don't have sleep apnea, a mouthguard that holds the lower jaw forward cuts the snoring, and a cheap boil-and-bite one is a reasonable place to start. A custom device from a dentist fits better and works for more people. Because it costs ten times as much or more, it's the second step, unless you have dental work, jaw trouble or signs of apnea.

These devices are called mandibular advancement devices, or MADs: two trays, one for each row of teeth, that set the lower jaw a few millimeters forward while you sleep. Dr. Andrew Varga of the Mount Sinai Integrative Sleep Center explained the effect to NBC News Select: it "creates more room in the back of the upper airway and puts a little bit of tension on some of the soft tissue, making it less prone to vibrating." Snoring is that vibration.

The clearest recent test comes from a randomized trial of people with primary snoring, meaning snoring without apnea, published in JAMA Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery. Bed partners rated 91% of mouthguard users as improved. For a cheaper bundle of nasal dilators, nasal rinses, mouth taping and sleep-position changes, the figure was 58%. The trial was small: 42 couples finished it, and treatment lasted four weeks.

The real choice, then, is not whether mouthguards work. It's which kind to buy.

A boil-and-bite mouthguard is made of plastic that softens in hot water. You bite into it, it sets around your teeth, and that impression is your fit. It needs no prescription, and NBC News Select put the typical price at up to about $100 as of September 2026.

These devices do reduce snoring. The 2014 TOMADO study, as summarized by Glidewell Dental, found that an off-the-shelf thermoplastic device lowered both snoring and the apnea-hypopnea index, which counts how many times an hour breathing stops or becomes shallow.

The weak point is comfort and fit:

• Side effects were nearly universal. 96% of TOMADO users had side effects, most often mouth discomfort (92%) and excess saliva (53%). The devices also slipped out easily.
• Most people kept wearing them anyway. 81% of TOMADO participants stayed on the device despite those side effects.
• Many people don't respond. In the 2007 Vanderveken crossover trial, 69% of patients failed on the boil-and-bite device.

Both of these studies looked at people with sleep-disordered breathing, not only snorers. That makes them a tougher test than plain snoring.

On Amazon, the names you'll see are ZQuiet, SnoreRx Plus and VitalSleep. None of the studies above tested any of them by name, and none of these sources published their prices or return policies. So there is no evidence here to rank one brand over another.

The research does say what matters when you choose:

• Fit matters most. Glidewell attributes the gap between off-the-shelf and custom devices mainly to how well they stay on the teeth.
• Design changes results. A 2024 trial in BMC Oral Health compared two mandibular advancement devices in the same kind of patient. One was effective in 70% of people and the other in 50%.
• Check the return window. With a failure rate like Vanderveken's, confirm the return policy before you pay.

The clinician-authored Snorple blog says jaw soreness and extra saliva usually ease within 7 to 14 nights. Give a new device about two weeks before you judge it.

Who should buy one: an adult with healthy natural teeth, no jaw pain and no signs of apnea, whose partner mostly complains about the noise.

A custom appliance is built from impressions of your teeth. Many can be adjusted later. The Hushd Pro Z-Link, cleared by the FDA on October 27, 2025, uses interchangeable connectors so a dentist can move the jaw forward a millimeter at a time as you adapt.

The results in treated patients are strong. A 2026 study of 182 adults with moderate-to-severe apnea at six Belgian hospitals, published on PMC, used custom, adjustable devices:

• Breathing events fell from 24.4 to 7.1 an hour.
• Snoring loudness fell from 7.1 to 1.7 on the study's scale.
• 75.8% of patients met the study's definition of success.

Two caveats apply. The patients were preselected with a scope exam under sedation to find likely responders, and there was no control group.

The best evidence that custom fit matters directly comes from Vanderveken's crossover trial. Of the patients who failed on the boil-and-bite device, 63% then succeeded with a custom one, and 82% preferred the custom device.

The costs are money and follow-up:

• Price. NBC News Select cited more than $1,000 without insurance. The JAMA snoring trial put its device at roughly $3,000 out of pocket.
• Early jaw pain. In that trial, 45% of users had jaw pain or discomfort that went away on its own within a few days.
• Bite changes. In a double-blind crossover trial, 5 patients had permanent changes to how their teeth meet.
• Checkups. A long-term review in PLoS One recommends a follow-up at 3 to 6 months, then once a year.

Who should buy one: someone whose boil-and-bite device failed or wouldn't stay in, anyone with implants or complex dental work, and anyone with diagnosed mild-to-moderate apnea.

A tongue-retaining device, such as the Good Morning Snore Solution, takes a different approach. It holds the tongue forward instead of the jaw, so it doesn't rely on your teeth at all. The FDA regulates it in the same device category as jaw-advancing mouthguards.

None of the studies gathered here measured a tongue-retaining device. That means there's no evidence in these sources on how well it works or on which brand is better. Treat it as worth trying if a mouthguard is impossible for you, but know that the evidence for it is thinner.

Fit decides who responds. Both kinds work the same way, by moving the jaw forward. The custom device wins because it stays in place through the night. That's why Vanderveken's patients who failed on a boil-and-bite device so often succeeded on a custom one.

What it's cleared to treat. Boil-and-bite devices like the Hushd Avera are cleared for snoring only. Under FDA rules, a device that claims to treat sleep apnea needs clinical evidence that it does. A drugstore mouthguard is not an apnea treatment.

Quieter snoring and a better night aren't the same thing. In the double-blind crossover trial, patients and their bed partners reported far less snoring. A sound-recording device did not detect a significant drop. Your partner's verdict counts, but it may run ahead of the audio.

Go straight to a dentist if any of these apply:

• Dental work or jaw problems. Sleep Foundation's medical reviewer, Dr. Dustin Cotliar, says people with implants, extensive restorative work or jaw alignment problems may need a professionally fitted device.
• Jaw joint disorders. The Snorple blog lists significant jaw joint (TMJ) disorders as a poor match for any jaw-advancing device.
• Nose-only snoring. The same source lists snoring caused only by a blocked nose as a poor match.
• Loose teeth or dentures. None of these sources address them. Ask a dentist first.

The bigger risk is untreated apnea. If you stop breathing in your sleep, wake up gasping, or feel exhausted after a full night, a mouthguard that quiets the snoring can hide the problem it isn't treating. Learn how to tell if it's sleep apnea before you buy. For severe apnea, the PLoS One review found that CPAP, a machine that pushes air through a mask, still reduces breathing events more than a mouthguard does.

If you snore, have healthy teeth and no signs of apnea, buy a boil-and-bite mouthguard, wear it for two weeks, and ask your partner whether the noise has changed. The trial evidence says it probably will.

If it falls out, hurts past those two weeks, or doesn't quiet you, a custom appliance is worth the cost. The custom device isn't a different treatment; it's the same treatment, made to stay in place.

If you have implants, crowns, jaw pain or any hint of apnea, skip the drugstore step and see a dentist or a sleep doctor first.