Tooronga Family Dentistry in Glen Iris

Archives for March 2017

4 Ways to Reduce tooth Grinding

If you wake up with a sore jaw or a dull headache, you might be grinding or clenching your teeth at night.

Teeth Grinding or Bruxism

Happens on a regular basis to many of us, it can gradually wear the tooth enamel, dentin, damage dental work and even break pieces off your teeth. There are several reasons why it happens. Stress or anxiety is one of the major causes along with pain and drugs. If a grinding habit is combined with crooked or missing teeth it’s destructive effects are more devastating.

4 ways to reduce the damage from tooth grinding

  1. Wear a mouth guard at night. An occlusal splint will help protect your teeth when you grind them.
  2. Reduce stress. Stress is a major cause for bruxism. Try exercising, meditation, taking a warm bath, read a good book or use other ways, that will help you relax. Make an extra effort to relax right before bedtime.
  3. Relax your jaw muscles.  Stress throughout the day is a sure way to get tense muscles that are prone to clench. Practice giving yourself mini jaw massages and avoid chewing on hard objects like pencils or biting your nails.
  4. Be mindful of your jaw. Find if you are grinding your teeth during the day, check your jaw position repeatedly. If you find your muscles clenched, relax them as soon as you notice it.

Please don’t hesitate to contact our team if you have more questions about tooth grinding or to make appointment to find a solution for your tooth grinding problems.

 

Loose Baby tooth but does not fall out.

A loose tooth doesn’t always mean a permanent tooth is about to come out. Children sometimes knock their teeth when playing or falling. If your child’s tooth is knocked loose, you should make an appointment as soon as possible with our team at Tooronga Family Dentistry to get it checked out, because there can be a risk of infection or damage to the permanent tooth.

Children usually lose teeth in about the same order they get them starting at the age of 6 years. If the loose tooth in your child’s mouth is not ready to come out naturally, attempts to remove it may cause unnecessary pain. If you’re not sure why one particular tooth is loose, and it seems too early or out of sequence for your child, you may wish to contact our team at Tooronga Family Dentistry.

At times the baby teeth linger on while the permanent teeth try to find their way out. Those baby teeth need to be removed, since they occupy the place where the permanent tooth should reside. If not removed the permanent teeth can end up erupting in a different position to where they should. This condition as shown in the image where the upper front tooth erupted behind the lower one must be treated immediately to avoid a more complicated treatment in the future. If your child is experiencing problems with the eruption of his permanent teeth please contact our team at Tooronga Family Dentistry to make an appointment.

 

Why baby teeth don’t fall out?

The permanent teeth start erupting and replacing the baby teeth at the age of 6 years. During the eruption of the adult teeth the root which anchors the baby teeth to the bone is being broken down. But if there is not enough room for the permanent teeth to erupt or permanent teeth are missing then baby teeth may be retained indefinitely. At times there can be extra teeth that can block the eruption of the permanent ones too.

Once the suspicion arises that there is a problem with the eruption of the permanent teeth it is important to come as soon as possible for an examination to see what could be the reason for the delay. With a simple x-ray, Dr. Kaufman can tell you, if there really is a problem or if your child is just developing slowly.

Please don’t hesitate to contact our team for an exam to determine if your child’s teeth are developing normally.