Temporomandibular Joint (or TMJ) disorders affect millions of people. The condition is characterized by symptoms like jaw pain, stiffness, or tenderness, pain in one or both joints, facial or ear aches, a clicking or locking jaw, and difficulty or pain when chewing.

As you can imagine, this could have an extreme impact on your life, impairing your ability to eat, drink, and communicate. What causes TMJ Disorder? What can you do to prevent precursors from turning into TMJ disorders? Here’s what you should know if you’re already experiencing a stiff jaw.

Causes

There are many potential causes for the onset of TMJ disorders, and it’s not always clear which is to blame. This can make the condition difficult to treat effectively. However, there are several potential causes.

What you need to understand is that the TMJ moves in two ways. It not only features a hinge action, which allows your jaw to open and close, but it can also slide, allowing your jaw a limited range of motion back and forth and side to side. This is all designed to help you chew a wide variety of foods.

Within the TMJ is cartilage and a cushioning disk. TMJ disorders occur when the cartilage, the disk, or the joint itself is damaged or out of alignment. This could be due to another condition like arthritis or bruxism (clenching and grinding teeth). It could be the result of injury or illness. The good news is there are treatment options that could help you to prevent TMJ disorders or treat them when they occur.

Prevention

Early detection is often essential in stopping one condition from ballooning into something more serious. If you’re experiencing stiffness or pain in your jaw, you need to see your dentist and/or your doctor for diagnosis and treatment. If you have arthritis, your doctor will help you to come up with a treatment plan, and in the meantime, you can watch what you eat (opting for soft instead of hard-to-chew foods), massage your jaw, treat it with hot or cold compresses, and use ibuprofen to relieve pain.

As for bruxism, your dentist can create a custom night guard for you to wear to prevent pain and other symptoms, as well as further damage. Unfortunately, bruxism is thought to be linked to high levels of stress, so you’ll also want to find ways to reduce stress in order to eliminate bruxism before it can cause TMJ disorders. If injury or illness is to blame, simply giving your body time to heal could do the trick.

When you receive a filling or crown meant to protect your tooth after treatment for a cavity or a root canal, you naturally expect the fixture to be permanent. If all goes well, your fillings and crowns could last indefinitely.

However, we can be pretty hard on our dental work. Some adults suffer from bruxism, or unconsciously clenching and grinding teeth. Some participate in sports that could result in trauma to the mouth and teeth. Or maybe you make the mistake of chewing hard candy, ice cubes, or pen caps. Even normal wear and tear could lead to lost or broken fillings or crowns.

In fact, it’s a fairly common occurrence. Is it an emergency, though? What should you do when you lose a filling or crown? Here are a few tips to get you through this understandably upsetting situation.

Don’t Go to the ER

In the vast majority of cases, losing a filling or crown is not an emergency. If you’ve been in an accident that resulted in trauma to your mouth, you may be dealing with an emergency situation on another level, but having a filling or crown break or pop out is probably not an emergency in and of itself.

In other words, you don’t need to head to the ER or wake your dentist in the middle of the night. While you definitely want to correct the situation, you can wait until morning to call your dentist’s office to schedule an appointment for repair or replacement.

What Should You Do in the Meantime?

The biggest issues when you lose a filling or crown is that your exposed tooth could be subject to further damage. You may also experience some pain, particularly in relation to hot or cold foods, beverages, or even air. Dabbing on some clove oil or Anbesol could help to ease discomfort, but what you really need to do is protect your tooth until your dentist can replace the filling or crown.

There are a couple of options to consider. If a dental fixture pops out intact, you may be able to clean your tooth, clean the fixture, and temporarily put it back in place with some dental cement. If not, you could simply coat the exposed tooth surface with dental cement or dental wax. These are not long-term solutions, but they could prevent further harm until you can get in to see your dentist for professional help.

The phrase “you are what you eat” is not meant to be taken literally. Eating a cupcake does not make you a cupcake any more than eating a string bean makes you a string bean. That said, eating a diet laden with sugars and fats will certainly affect your health in different ways than eating a diet high in fruits and veggies, just for example. There is a strong correlation between nutrition and health.

What you may not realize is just how much the foods and beverages you consume could affect your teeth. Sugar is particularly nasty because it clings to teeth, creating a breeding ground for harmful bacteria. While acidic substances don’t have the same sticky properties, they can be harmful to your teeth in different ways, and you should be aware of the damage they can cause.
What do acidic foods and beverages do to your teeth, and how can you avoid the harm associated with them? Here’s what you need to know.

Acid Damage

When acids in foods and beverages come into contact with your teeth, they attack the enamel directly, unlike sugar, which tends to cause damage because it lingers and feeds bacteria. Acids leach away the calcium that makes your teeth strong and erodes the hard enamel shell that protects teeth from bacteria, infection, and ultimately, decay. In other words, you want to avoid exposure to acid as much as possible in order to prevent erosion and subsequent harm.

Know What You’re Eating

One of the best ways to avoid acid erosion is to understand where it’s coming from. Some foods, like citrus fruits, are well-known sources of acid. However, you might not realize that acids could be lurking in your soda, pasta sauce, pickles, salad dressing, coffee, and many other foods and beverages. If you want to avoid the damage these foods can cause, it’s best to take the time to learn which foods are most harmful so that you can cut back.

Hedge Your Bets

It’s understandable that you wouldn’t want to give up on some of your favorite foods and beverages, even if they are acidic. In this case, you should learn how to combat the ill effects. For beverages, try drinking with a straw to limit contact with teeth. Don’t suck on limes or other citrus fruits. Get plenty of calcium in your diet to keep teeth healthy and strong. And of course, make sure to brush, floss, and rinse with mouthwash after every meal, and visit your dentist regularly to maintain the best possible oral health.

No matter how your teeth or your jaws fit together, you’ve probably found ways to make your bite work so that you can eat regularly. However, just because you can speak and chew your food doesn’t necessarily mean your bite is properly aligned, and the longer you go without correcting the issue, the more chance you have to suffer lasting damage as a result.

How can you tell if you have proper bite alignment? What could happen if you don’t? And what can you do to correct the issue? Here’s what you need to know.

What’s in a Smile?

It’s easy to be taken off guard when your dentist informs you that your bite is off. Looking at the front of your teeth, or even the inside of your mouth, you might think your teeth are perfectly straight. However, bite alignment is not necessarily about the state of your smile, but rather how your upper and lower teeth fit together. This can be seen best from the side of the mouth, which most of us can’t get a good look at on our own.

When your bite is properly aligned, the top and bottom teeth will fit together perfectly, like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. If there are gaps between upper and lower teeth, or you suffer a serious overbite or underbite, you can bet your bite is somehow misaligned. This could be due to either jaw or tooth misalignment, or both.

What’s Wrong with Improper Bite Alignment?

Some amount of overlap is acceptable when it comes to your bite, but if alignment issues are severe enough, they could cause a slew of problems over time. For example, bite misalignment could be responsible for speech impediments like lisps.

It could also cause problems with chewing, lead to discomfort or pain, result in frequent biting of the tongue or cheeks, or even alter the appearance of your face. Bite issues could also make it difficult to properly brush and floss teeth, leading to problems like tooth decay and gum disease. Rarely is improper bite alignment merely a cosmetic issue. If not corrected, it is likely to cause functional issues, as well.

What Can You Do?

When you find that your bite is off, you may be understandably concerned. The good news is that there are solutions. The most common is the use of orthodontic braces to properly align your teeth and jaws. You should speak with your dentist or orthodontist about the options available to you based on your particular needs.

You might find the thought of itchy gums confounding, but it’s actually a fairly common occurrence that many people experience at different times in life. This is because there are several common causes of itchy gums. What could cause irritation and itchiness in your gums? Here are some of the causes you should know about.

Poor Oral Hygiene

When you brush, floss, and rinse with mouthwash daily and see your dentist regularly for check-up and cleaning, you’re giving yourself the best chance to keep your mouth healthy and well. If you neglect these essential steps you could end up with tartar and plaque buildup that causes all kinds of discomfort and harm.

Sticky plaque can build up on teeth and extend below the gum line when you fail to practice proper oral care. Over time, this can lead to infection, gingivitis, periodontitis, and extremely serious oral health issues. In the meantime, plaque buildup and related infections can irritate your gums and cause you to experience an itching sensation, among other potential symptoms.

Allergies

Not everybody has allergies, but for those that do, there could be a number of symptoms. Whether you have food, seasonal, pharmaceutical, or other allergies, you might experience indigestion, hives, or even anaphylaxis when exposed to allergens. You could also have swelling, burning, or itching sensations in the gums. If you’re allergic to certain metals, make sure to let your dentist know before you get fillings so appropriate filling materials can be used.

Hormones

You know that hormonal fluctuations can cause you to feel tired, achy, irritable, or even overheated. What you might not know is that your hormones can affect your oral health. It’s not uncommon for people to experience itchy gums during puberty, menstruation, pregnancy, menopause, or other periods of hormonal shift.

Although such symptoms may fade over time, it’s always best to see your dentist when you experience itchy gums. Even if you think they’re related to temporary hormonal changes, they could still be harmful to your health if there are other causes involved.

Trauma

Any time you experience trauma to your mouth, you could end up dealing with a variety of associated symptoms. Itchy gums could result from an accident, injury, or illness, but this symptom could also be related to unseen trauma like bruxism (teeth grinding and jaw clenching). You might not even realize you’re suffering from bruxism. This is why it’s always best to visit your dentist when your gums start to itch so you can receive a proper diagnosis and treatment.

A healthy, beautiful smile is important. It not only gives you confidence and helps you make a good first impression, but people consistently rate a great smile as one of the most appealing physical attributes. In order to keep your smile healthy and attractive, however, you have to avoid the damage that could be caused by plaque and tartar buildup.

What are these substances? You’ve likely heard of them, but you may not know quite what they are or how they differ. This is an instance where knowledge is power. Here’s what you need to know about plaque and tartar so you can properly fight them.

One Precedes the Other

Let’s start by saying that untreated plaque is the basis for the formation of tartar. What leads to plaque, though? Plaque is a biofilm that is constantly forming in your mouth. This sticky, colorless substance is made up of food particles that cling to teeth, as well as the bacteria that feed on these leftovers.

Certain foods, like sugars and carbs, are sticky to begin with, and this can speed the process of plaque formation and the growth of harmful bacteria in the mouth. When plaque is allowed to take root, it can begin to form tartar within several days.

How is Tartar Different from Plaque?

When plaque builds up and begins to harden, it develops into tartar, or calculus, a hard and sticky substance that is difficult to remove from teeth. This whitish or yellowish substance often forms below the gum line first and then creeps onto the surface of teeth, where it attracts more food and bacteria and continues to expand.

Tartar is porous, so it can stain easily and cause your smile to look unsightly. Aside from cosmetic concerns, it is also extremely damaging to teeth, attacking enamel, irritating gums, and paving the way for diseases like gingivitis and even periodontitis if left untreated.

Treatment Options

Prevention is the best course when it comes to plaque and tartar, and preventing plaque is the obvious place to start. This is most easily accomplished with a proper, at-home, oral health regimen. You know you should brush, floss, and rinse with mouthwash after every meal, and this is because you want to remove leftover food particles and kill off harmful bacteria. This disrupts the cycle of forming plaque and keeps your teeth squeaky clean.

If you get to the point where tartar is building, prevention is no longer an option. In this case, you’ll want to visit your dentist for cleaning, after which you should begin to practice preventive measures to avoid future buildup.

Orthodontic braces are still one of the best ways to work on tooth and jaw alignment issues, especially those that are too complex for newer options like invisible aligner trays. Although many people get braces during their youth or adolescence, it’s not at all uncommon these days for adults to decide to improve their smile with braces.

That said, the bands and wires that move your teeth can make it difficult to brush, floss, and properly care for your teeth. This can leave you to contend with a variety of dental issues while you’re wearing braces, or after you have them removed. Here are just a few common dental issues to watch for when you’re wearing braces.

Sensitivity

You know that braces are going to move your teeth around and perhaps even realign your jaw in order to correct your bite. This can be an uncomfortable process, but aches and pains are not unexpected. What you might not know is that you can suffer from tooth sensitivity (to hot or cold foods) when wearing braces.

The good news is that there are easy ways to treat sensitivity. You could start by switching to a targeted toothpaste like Sensodyne that is designed to combat this symptom. You should also use a soft-bristled toothbrush and brush carefully, albeit thoroughly. Don’t forget to talk to your dentist about additional options, such as fluoride treatments than can help to strengthen enamel.

Plaque and Tartar

There’s no denying it’s hard to clean around braces, which is why there are so many tools designed to help you brush and floss in tight spaces while working around metal hardware. Even with proper brushing, flossing, and rinsing, however, it’s not uncommon to see additional plaque and tartar buildup when you have braces. This is why it’s so important to continue visiting your dentist for regular cleaning and checkup while wearing braces.

Gingivitis

Gum disease is a serious condition that can have all kinds of consequences you’d rather avoid, especially after going through all the trouble to get a perfectly straight smile. This condition, characterized by swollen, bleeding, infected gum tissue, is often the result of plaque and tartar buildup below the gum line.

The easiest way to prevent this condition, which can lead to periodontitis over time, is to floss. This can be very challenging with braces, so speak to your dentist or orthodontist about tools that will make it easier, and be sure to schedule regular visits with your dentist to check progress.

There are a number of reasons why your dentist might suggest the application of a dental crown. They are most often used in instances where a significant portion of the tooth has been lost, say to a cavity or breakage, but they may also be used for cosmetic purposes, such as to hide serious discoloration that cannot be corrected another way (like through whitening procedures).
Crowns could be made of materials like resin, porcelain, ceramic, and in some cases even stainless steel, although for cosmetic reasons, this last one is used less often. These materials will be bonded to teeth and molded to match your natural bite and create a pleasing appearance, completing your smile and restoring function.

How does the process begin? Your tooth will first have to be prepped to receive the crown, and this could include a number of steps.

Eliminating Decay and Infection

A healthy mouth is a prerequisite for many dental procedures, so if the reason you’re getting a crown has to do with a cavity, an abscess, or related issues, the first order of business is likely to restore your health before proceeding. This could involve removal of affected tissues and perhaps a round of antibiotics, depending on the situation. In cases of infection, further preparations for placing a crown may be delayed until you have completely recovered.

Tooth Reduction

In cases of tooth decay or trauma, preparations for placing a crown may start with removal of damaged tissue. Cavities, for example, will have to be removed before they can be filled, and a broken tooth might night to be shaped prior to placing a crown. In many instances, some amount of filing down is necessary, not only to accommodate the added bulk of the crown, but to prepare the tooth to properly bond with the tooth restoration.

Impressions and Fabrication

Once the tooth is prepped your dentist will take an impression and send it out to a lab so your permanent crown can be fabricated. A temporary crown will be placed on your tooth until your next visit, when the permanent crown will be affixed. Alternately, some dentists offer same day crowns, whereby your tooth will be digitally mapped and your crown will be created in-office and affixed during a single appointment.

Preparation for a crown may take some time or you could complete the entire process and leave the office with your permanent crown in place the same day. It all depends on the condition of your tooth and the services offered by your dentist.

Many people have experienced temporary ringing, humming, or buzzing in the ear even when there is no external sound to create the sensation. Maybe you had if for a few days after attending a loud rock concert or when the football hit you in the side of the head during a pickup game at the park.

When these sensations are persistent or recurring, you could be suffering from a condition known as tinnitus. While causes aren’t always known and it’s possible that you could be stuck with the condition, there are also several common reasons for the onset of tinnitus, as well as a variety of treatment options to explore.

How does your dentist fit into the picture? Tinnitus is often linked to trauma, obstructions in the middle ear, pressure in the inner ear, or other factors that affect the function of the eardrum. In some cases, tinnitus could be linked to your teeth, or more specifically, tooth trauma, oral health issues, or perhaps even dental procedures. If this is the case, there’s a good chance your tinnitus is treatable, with the help of your dentist.

Buzzing Drill, Ringing Ear?

In some cases, having dental work done could cause you to experience symptoms of tinnitus, or exacerbate an existing problem. The whine and buzz of the dental drill is not only close to your ear when work is being done, but the bone of your tooth could actually amplify the transmission of sound to your sensitive inner ear and the cochlea. Luckily, any residual buzzing following your treatment should naturally diminish soon after.

If you have tinnitus and you know you will have to undergo a procedure that involves extensive drilling, talk to your dentist about the possibility of drilling in short bursts and taking breaks, drilling for a few seconds and then stopping for a few seconds. This could help to ensure that the drill doesn’t trigger existing tinnitus.

Tooth Trauma

Issues like abscessed teeth and impacted wisdom teeth can cause you all kinds of pain and discomfort, including the onset of tinnitus. The good news is there’s a simple solution. When you treat these conditions you’ll likely notice a significant improvement to tinnitus symptoms in the process.

Abscesses may require extensive treatment, so it could take a while for tinnitus to subside, but impacted wisdom teeth can be removed and the area can heal relatively quickly, relieving pressure and reducing tinnitus. Other tooth trauma, from a car accident or sporting injury, for example, could also result in tinnitus. In such instances, the hope is that it will fade with treatment and recovery.

On the one hand, holidays tend to be highly enjoyable because of increased permissiveness. During holidays, we allow ourselves to indulge in the many delectable treats we spend the rest of the year trying to avoid.

Unfortunately, a few nights of overindulging each year can lead to consequences for both our oral and our overall health. Just think of how much time and energy we devote to the most popular New Year’s resolution each year – losing those 5-10 pounds gained thanks to holiday feasting.

When it comes to Halloween, a holiday devoted to costumes and candy, it’s all too easy to get caught up and find yourself scarfing down candy alongside your kids. However, you should spare a moment to consider not only the empty calories you’re consuming, but also the damage all that sugar could mean for your teeth.

Like anything, moderation is generally the key to avoiding serious harm, but you should also know that certain types of candy could do a lot more damage than others. Here are the worst types of Halloween candy for your teeth.

Caramel and Nougat

Oozing caramel and gooey nougat are pretty satisfying for our tongues, but not so much for our teeth. A hard caramel could torque a crown if you’re not careful, but what’s worse is the damage you don’t see.

Caramel and nougat linger long after you’ve finished eating, clinging to teeth and feeding bacteria in your mouth. This, in turn, produces an acidic film that attacks tooth enamel, potentially opening your teeth to infection and decay.

What does this mean for your grab bag of candy? Well, you’re going to want to stay away from popular items like Milky Way, Snickers, and Twix bars, as well as any other candy containing caramel. You should also avoid equally sticky items like gummy candy and taffy, as well as chewy items like Skittles and Starburst.

Hard Candy

Hard candy might not seem quite as bad as caramel, but it could harm your teeth in other ways. For example, sucking on hard candy means you bring teeth in contact with sugar longer. Plus, if you bite down on hard candies, you could chip or crack teeth, creating damage that paves the way for cavities or other dental woes.

Sour Stuff

Many sour candies are chewy or hard, which means you’ll probably want to avoid them anyway, but you should be extra vigilant about these confections because the sour substance can be acidic, eating away at tooth enamel.