Monthly Archives: January 2012

Do you grind your teeth?

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I was surfing the web this morning and came upon a blog that can be found on cnn.com under their health tab. http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2011/12/06/teeth-grinding-could-signal-sleep-problems/?hpt=he_bn1

It is a short article on bruxism or teeth grinding. The constant grinding of your teeth against each other can have a drastic impact on your mouth. Tooth structure begins to wear away, and once tooth structure is removed, nothing can be done to grow tooth structure back. The outer layers of your teeth, enamel, is the hardest structure in your body and the underlying layers, dentin, is really soft. Once, the enamel wears away, grinding your teeth can cause rapid wear and ultimately causes a tooth to break or fracture. Bruxism can not only cause tooth loss, it can cause headaches, muscle spasms and jaw joint pain.

Unfortunately, grinding your teeth is neurological in nature and some people can be completely unaware that they do it. Most times, the person’s partner tells them that they are grinding or a dentists notices wear patterns on a person’s teeth. Since it happens while people are sleeping, it is not something that a person can just stop doing. Dentists can make a mouth piece known as a night guard that can help prevent the teeth from wearing away or breaking. The mouth piece is worn at night and absorbs the pressure people put on their teeth from grinding.

Grinding your teeth can also occur more frequently when you are stressed. It is your bodies’ way of relieving the stress; unfortunately, it causes damage to your teeth.

If you have sore muscles or jaw joints when you wake up in the morning, it is probably a sign that you are grinding your teeth. If you are in the Huntingon Beach area and need a dental evaluation for a bruxism, feel free to schedule an appointment through our website, www.FordDentalGroup.com.

16511 Goldenwest St, Huntington Beach, Ca 92647 714-842-7431

Are your lower teeth getting more crowded?

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Over the past few months, I have had several  patients ask me why their lower front teeth are getting more crowded? Some think it is because they have never had their wisdom teeth removed, and the wisdom teeth are pushing all their teeth forward. Well, we now know it happens to almost everyone, even if you still have your wisdom teeth. Nature just published an article discussing why. http://www.nature.com/bdj/journal/v211/n12/full/sj.bdj.2011.1064.html

Researchers at a dental school in Sweeden took jaw study models of 30 dental students in the 1940′s and recently took the same study models on 18 of those original 30 dental students. The researchers found out that people’s lower jaws shrink over time, especially in the lower mandible region. As the jaw shrinks, the teeth move back and become more crowded.

Unfortunately, the researchers can’t point to one thing that causes the jaw to shrink. It appears to be multifaceted. My hypothesis has to do with bone density. As we get older, we lose bone density; sometimes it can be more severe in patients with osteoporosis. The bone loss is usually thought to occur in your back or hips, but it really happens everywhere, including your jaw. So, if your teeth need bone to stay firmly in place and the bone is being lost from the front of your jaw, your teeth move slightly inward and become more crowded.

To help prevent some of the anterior crowding, we can make you a lower retainer, that will help keep your teeth in place. Ask us about it at your next appointment.

As always, if you have any questions, feel free to contact us through our website, www.FordDentalGroup.com.

16511 Goldenwest St, Suite 107, Huntington Beach, CA 92647

Dentist Huntington Beach