Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Why Houston General Dentists and Cosmetic Dentists Prescribe Nightguards

Houston general dentists use a variety of mouthpieces to treat cosmetic dental problems. These night guards also offer medical benefits to our patients. Protective acrylic splints, colloquially known as night guards, are used by both cosmetic and general dentists in Houston as adjunct supports to a variety of traditional and restorative treatment options.

Experience has proven that consistent use of these oral appliances can often lessen the need for more drastic—and expensive—dental procedures later down the line.

Houston general dentists and cosmetic dental experts often prescribe oral appliances to help alleviate muscular problems. When used in this manner, a night guard will help the patient achieve a very significant relaxation of facial and jaw muscles.

Acrylic splints are also prescribed by as a form of preventative dental care. In fact, many Houston general dentists now see them as dental care basics equivalent in importance to fluorides, sealants, and floss. When acrylic splints are used in this manner, they help achieve several objectives.

Bruxism
Bruxism is the dental term for tooth grinding. Often patients do not know they are grinding their teeth until they notice tooth sensitivity or aching in their mouths. After coming in for a dental appointment, close examination of the teeth reveals damage to the enamel due to excessive pressure and grinding.

Acrylic splints prevent teeth from making contact by separating the posterior teeth from the anterior teeth. This causes less pressure to be placed on the joint, and the disk within the joint as well.

TMJ dysfunction
Temporomandibular disorder, also known as TMD, is a cycle of pain, muscle spasms, and joint imbalance at the temporomandibular joint, or TMJ, where the joint meets the skull. Only a thin disc of cartilage cushions these two bones is a thin disc of cartilage, and only five muscles support the joint.

When balance is lost between the muscles, cartilage, and bone, severe symptoms can erupt that include headaches, earaches, clicking sounds in the joint, aches in the joint, and difficulty opening and closing one’s mouth.

In TMD patients with, nightguards are used to help control the pain and imbalance. Full time use of a nightguard, in conjunction with other medical treatments, can drastically lessen the sometime severe pain of this condition.

Periodontal disease
There are four progressions of Periodontitis, ranging from the common gingivitis to advanced Periodontal disease that can cause health problems in other parts of the body, such as the heart and the lungs.

In patients with moderate to advanced Periodontitis, splints are prescribed by general dentists in Houston to distribute forces, decrease trauma, and to aid in the healing process following treatment.

This type of conservative treatment will have an increasingly important place in a preventive philosophy of patient treatment.

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Friday, March 20, 2009

Teeth Grinding And Headaches

Many headaches can be traced back to teeth grinding and clenching (Bruxism). When people grind their teeth, jaw muscles become sore from overuse. Not on will this wear down tooth surfaces; this will also cause many people to experience tension headaches. There is good news for these people, however. With the help of a special type of nightguard known as an occusal nightguard, people can sleep without grinding their teeth, and they can be free from headaches during the day.

Technically speaking, Bruxism is defined by any excessive contact between the upper and lower teeth. If you add up all the time you spend chewing and swallowing food over the course of any given day, all you have at the end of the day is 15 minutes—the same amount of real action in a football game, minus the timeouts and huddles. However, people who grind teeth are engaging in a rough contact sport of up to six total hours over a 24-hour period of time.

The American Dental Association has also made it all that 95 percent of the American public suffers from a grinding or clenching teeth during at some time or the other over the course of a lifetime. Many of these instances are temporary conditions that result from stress factors such as divorce, job loss, and grief over the death of someone loved. More severe cases appear to be chronic, however, and require intervention. If nothing is done, as much as 50 percent of the tooth surfaces in the front can end up being worn down.

This will cause the jaws and mouth to drop and wrinkles will form around the cheeks and around the front of the mouth. This can be corrected with porcelain inlays, onlays, and crowns that will restore the proper size and shape of teeth. However, it is much better to treat Bruxism in its early stages before it gets actually damages teeth. The occusal nightguard is an ideal way to accomplish this. It fits over the teeth at night and prevents direct contact between them.

Obtaining one of these devices is simple. Call our office and schedule an evaluation to look for signs of clenching and grinding. Worn tooth enamel will often result in exposed dentin. We may possibly find dental abfraction, characterized by V-shaped notches in the teeth. If we find these problems, we will custom-mold the nightguard to fit your teeth so that wearing it will be as comfortable as possible.

This will almost always stop Bruxism in its tracks. It is a highly effective and affordable treatment option for any of you that want to prevent the problem rather than solving it after the fact.

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