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What Can Be Done to Treat Severe Bruxism? |
Posted on 7/26/2021 by Ankur Johri |
| If you usually wake up with a nagging sore jaw or headache, you could be suffering from bruxism. Bruxism can also happen during the day in response to stress or anxiety. If untreated, this habit can damage your teeth, which is why you should identify the cause and manage the condition. Most bruxism patients do not seek treatment until they experience pain. For the lucky ones, their partners will alert them of their condition, and they can seek treatment before bruxism becomes severe. If you have severe bruxism, you should not worry. After diagnosis, we will recommend treatment options, including mouth guards, medication, and treatment of underlying triggers to enable you to resume a normal and pain-free life. Mouthguards and Medication If untreated, bruxism can wear down your teeth resulting in tooth sensitivity and a gummy smile. To prevent these effects, we will recommend mouth guards and splints to prevent your teeth from grinding against each other. To treat bruxism, we will recommend certain medications to relieve the symptoms. These include muscle relaxants that you can take before bedtime to relax your jaw muscles when you sleep. If your bruxism is due to stress or anxiety, we will recommend antidepressants. We may also prescribe Botox injections if your bruxism is severe and has failed to respond to the above treatment options. Treatment of Bruxism Triggers Bruxism can result from the effects of certain medications, sleep-related disorders, or other medical conditions. Before we recommend a treatment, we will first diagnose these conditions and, if present, administer treatment. If your bruxism results from a certain drug side effect, we will prescribe a different one. If you have sleep apnea or gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) associated with bruxism, we will treat them. We will also recommend behavioral strategies such as stress management to treat severe bruxism caused by stress. For more details on managing bruxism, contact our office today.... Read more... |
How to Make Brushing into a Fun Daily Habit |
Posted on 7/12/2021 by Ankur Johri |
| Most people require some sort of benefit for brushing their teeth, as the impacts are not immediately felt or seen. Of course, that also means that the repercussions for not brushing are also not felt for a long time. This is why we suggest recreating your brushing routine as a fun facet of your day. Take Advantage of Apps Like everything else, there's an app for brushing your teeth. There are multiple, actually. And they are not those brushing games that are given to children to help them learn how to brush. Instead, there are unique adult apps created for the sole purpose of helping encourage you to brush your teeth. From getting instant satisfaction to building up 'experience' for the next goal—there are a huge number of apps created to help you and encourage you to brush. Change Your Tools For those of us who are not tech-savvy or don't want to add another phone into their daily routine, there are other options for brushing fun. No one tells you this, but there is no reason why you couldn't change out your toothpaste or toothbrush as you want. This mix-up could actually be good for your teeth, as different toothpaste focuses on various parts of the mouth while different brushes can help reach new places. You could even get a tartar revealing mouth wash and make sure your mouth is clean. Contact Us for More We're here to help you learn more about your oral health, and when you start having discomfort, we want to be the first people you call. If you'd like to learn more about how to make your daily brushing a fun activity or about your oral health in general, contact us and ask for a consultation.... Read more... |
Surgical Treatment for Bad Bite FAQs |
Posted on 6/21/2021 by Ankur Johri |
| Medically speaking, a bad bite is known as malocclusions. Malocclusions are generally referred to as crooked or unaligned teeth. Sometimes, patients can have teeth that cross over one another, overlap over another, or are spaced too far apart. All these are different kinds of malocclusions that are caused by the improper development of our jawbones. Most often, malocclusions are considered to be hereditary, but sometimes, environmental factors like thumb sucking, malnutrition, and oral infections or diseases can also result in bad bites. Jaw surgery is performed to treat bad bites. During this surgery, the surgeon changes the shape, size, and alignment of the jawbones to improve the patient's occlusion. After changing the bone structure of the jaws, the teeth are given time to adjust and align themselves on the operated jaw bone. The amazing thing about teeth and jawbones is that regardless of age, these bones continue to move and grow. This feature enables the teeth to naturally take roots in the surgically treated jawbones. Some of the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about surgical treatment for bad bite are: What kind of problems can occur if I have a misaligned jaw or malocclusion? When you have a misaligned jaw or malocclusion (bad bite), you will experience frequent headaches, experience difficulty in biting and chewing your food, will be more prone to oral infections and diseases because dental hygiene will become a problem, face difficulty in speaking, and may even be affected by obstructive sleep apnea. What types of equipment are used in jaw surgery? During the jaw surgery, your surgeon will use scalpels, bone cutters, scissors, forceps, scalers, and excavators to operate on your jaw. Your jaws will be attached together with the help of titanium plates and screws that are strong enough to hold the jawbones in place. What is the cost of jaw surgery? Jaw surgery is one of the most costly, corrective, and cosmetic surgery. On average, the cost of jaw surgery can range between $20,000 to $80,000 depending on the type of surgery, the size of the affected area, and the reputation of the surgeon and hospital. It is to be noted that reconstructive jaw surgery is generally three times more expensive than corrective jaw surgery. Will my medical insurance cover for my jaw surgery? Some medical insurance plans will cover jaw surgery for bad bite, but most medical insurance plans do not provide coverage for oral surgeries. It is best that you check with your health insurance provider/company before you undergo a surgical treatment for bad bite. At Lehigh Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, and can help you find the best surgical procedure for treating you bad bite. Call us at (610) 435-6161 to schedule your appointment.... Read more... |