TMI - The Monday Inquiry

Equilibration

What is equilibration?
Equilibration is a process in which we adjust your bite by reshaping the biting surfaces of your teeth. It’s important for the health of your mouth to have your teeth come together properly when you bite and chew. Equilibration can prevent you from experiencing the following problems:
• Loose teeth
• Pain when chewing
• A toothache
• Jaw-joint pain
• Headaches
• Loss of tooth structure near the gumline

What is a healthy bite?
If your bite is healthy, your teeth will come together in such a way that they allow ideal paths of movement. This creates harmony for your jaw joint and maximum protection for your teeth. However, if you have had periodontal disease, an abscess, tooth crowding, or previous tooth loss, your teeth may shift or tilt. When this happens, your bite’s natural harmony may be compromised or lost.

How we can help using equilibration?
The process of equilibration begins with a careful evaluation of your mouth and your bite. This sometimes includes taking x-rays. We’ll use a special marking tape to evaluate your specific biting pattern. Then we’ll use the dental handpiece to carefully and meticulously remove small layers of tooth enamel. We’ll repeat the process, sometimes on subsequent visits, until your bite is back in harmony. Equilibration is a safe and effective procedure that prevents a chain reaction of problems in your mouth and restores harmony to your teeth.

Occlusion

What is occlusion?
Mother Nature didn’t provide all of use with a stable, healthy bite. Some people have bites that have been affected by wear, changed by dental restorations, or that have shifted with time. A healthy bite allows all of your teeth to hit simultaneously and evenly when your jaw joint is seated into its proper position at the base of your skull. In this position, your chewing muscles are also contracting evenly. One way to test your bite is to shift your jaw to the side. Your canine teeth, or eye teeth, should be the only teeth hitting and should absorb all the lateral biting force.

A “bad bite”
When you have a bad bite, also called a malocclusion, your teeth do not align properly. This cfan cause damage to your teeth and restoration, and it can also set off a cycle of muscle spasms, pain, and soreness commonly referred to as TMD, or temporomandibular disorder. When the balance is lost among the bones, cartilage, and muscles of the temporomandibular joing, it can lead to:
• Headaches
• Earaches
• Difficulty in opening and closing the jaw
• A dull, aching pain around the ear that spreads into the face
• Sore or painful jaw muscles

Bite problems can cause bruxism and abfraction
A malocclusion can also cause a condition called bruxism, which is the clenching or grinding of the teeth that occurs primarily while sleeping. The symptoms of bruxism are worn teeth, notching at the gumline (called abfraction), as well as all of the symptoms associated with TMD. Abfraction is the notching of teeth near or even under the gumline. When your bite is slightly off, undue stress is placed on the involved teeth and they begin to flex. This continual flexing and stress eventually cause the enamel to separate from the inner dentin layer, forming abfraction’s characteristic notch at the gumline. We can perform a complete bite evaluation, which will help up address any potential problems early in their development. Adjusting, realigning, or restoring teeth can prevent many future complications, and can help gain optimal muscle balance and a comfortable bite.

Neuromuscular Dentistry

What is Neuromuscular Dentistry?
Neuromuscular dentistry focuses on the healthy relationship among the teeth, jaw joints, and head and neck muscles.

A harmonious bite
In a harmonious, comfortable bite, the teeth, jaw joints, and muscles and can work together without strain or tension. The biting surfaces of upper and lower teeth fit together neatly, and the jaw joints work smoothly. The muscles on both sides of the face are relaxed when you are not chewing or swallowing, and when you do chew or swallow, these muscles contract evenly to bring the teeth together.

A problem bite
When there’s a problem with the bite, upper and lower teeth don’t come together correctly. A problem bite often exists when teeth are missing, misaligned, or worn down. In this situation, the muscles must use extra force, and the jaw joints often shift position in order to bring the teeth together. And when you are not chewing, your jaw muscles may not fully relax, even though they normal to you. Over time, this can cause muscles and joints to become sore, tired, and stiff. A bad bite, together with tense, strained muscles, can lead to a variety of problems, such as headaches, muscle pain, damage to the teeth or jaw joint, clicking and popping, and other symptoms. If can also shorten the life of crowns, veneers, and other dental restoration through damage or excess wear.

Diagnosis and treatment
When we are planning your dental treatment, we’ll use specialized advanced equipment to identify problems in the muscles, jaw joints, and bite. If we do find any problems, we may recommend treatments to stabilize your bite. These may include:
• Wearing a custom bite splint, called an orthotic
• Providing orthodontic treatment
• Placing crowns and veneers on the affected teeth

With the techniques and technologies of neuromuscular dentistry, we can help you achieve a healthier bite, more comfortable muscles and jaw joints, and a beautiful smile.

Youth Dental Health

Primary teeth
Because primary teeth, also called baby teeth, are eventually replaced by permanent teeth, many people don’t realize that primary teeth are, in fact, very important for a child’s long-term dental health.

Alignment of permanent teeth
Normally, some of the primary teeth remain in the mouth until a child is eleven or twelve. During this time, they serve as space maintainers and ensure that the permanent teeth are properly aligned as they grow into the mouth. Early loss of primary teeth often causes misalignment of the permanent teeth and may even alter normal facial development. Expensive orthodontic solutions may be necessary to correct these problems.

Nutrition and speech development
Children need strong, healthy teeth to chew their food. Cavities and tooth loss can make it impossible for a child to eat properly, which affects his/her overall level of health. Speech development can also be affected by premature tooth loss. In combination, these problems may lower a child’s self-esteem during important formative years. As you can see, primary teeth are critically important for a child’s health and development. It’s important to keep them in the mouth as long as possible by practicing excellent oral hygiene and treating problems early.

Pulpectomy

What is a Pulpectomy?
When the nerve of a baby tooth becomes infected, a pulpectomy can save the tooth. Like root canal treatment in an adult tooth, a pulpectomy involves removal of the infected nerve and the placement of a filling material.

Treatment in four steps
Through treatment is individualize in each case, there are four common steps in a pulpectomy. First, an opening is made into the tooth to get at the infection. Then the infected nerve tissue is removed. A filling material is placed in the root canals, and then a crown is placed to seal and protect the tooth.

Comfort is a priority
We want the entire procedure to be comfortable for your child, so the first thing we do is make sure his/her mouth is thoroughly numb. We place a rubber dam around the tooth to isolate it form the rest of the mouth. It protects her like a safety net, ensuring that nothing can fall to the back of her throat.