1. The most common reason is that the crown might be high compared to the adjacent teeth, causing excessive pressure when you bite down. The solution for it is to reduce the height of the new crown to match the adjacent teeth.

2. Before the crown was inserted there was rot or decay in the tooth.  In these instances there is a need to cut or remove the crown to reach the bacteria inside the tooth and clean them out or that will lead to a swelling next to the tooth on top of the pain.

3. The tooth the crown is attached to, is cracked or fractured, when chewing the crack or fracture open up and cause pain.

4. Gum Inflammation or Infection around the crown can cause pain or soreness especially when eating or brushing.

5. If the nerve inside the tooth wasn’t removed, it could be inflamed or infected.

6. The crown is loose. A poorly fitted crown can shift slightly when chewing and irritate the underlying tooth or gums.

If you suffer from pain or sensitivity in the tooth where a crown has been fitted, it is not normal. It requires an examination to determine what it the reason for it. please ask Dr. Kaufman or schedule an appointment for a consultation.

There can be several reasons why it is happening:

1. Poor fit between the new veneers and the teeth it covers. For a great outcome the veneers need to snugly fit the teeth. Any gap will allow food and bacteria deposit in hard to reach places leading to gum inflammation and decay in the tooth.
2. Violation of the biologic width , if the veneer is pushed into the gum tissue, the will develop a gum inflammation.
3. The veneers are held to the teeth with a glue. If glue residues were  left behind during the veneer placement, they can irritate the gum tissue and cause gum recession.
4. If before the veneers were placed, there was an underlying gum disease that was not treated, this could lead to bleeding and discomfort.
5. Brushing or Flossing around the veneer with a hard tooth brush, abrasive tooth paste or much force can cause mechanical trauma to the gum.

If you suffer from bleeding gums around veneers, it is not normal and it requires an examination to determine what is the reason for it and treatment to stop it. Left untreated the condition can lead to bone loss and decay in the teeth or loss of the veneers. If you would like to protect your veneers and gum condition, please ask Dr. Kaufman or schedule an appointment for a consultation.

Tipped and crowded teeth result in food being trapped between them and a difficulty to clean. Which leads to cavities and gum disease. Once a tooth is lost, the adjacent teeth will shift into the vacant space and the opposing teeth will rise. After these changes had happened  it becomes uncomfortable to chew and the bite does not feel right. An orthodontic treatment will align the teeth, prevent the food traps and allow for better cleaning. We can push the teeth back with braces or aligners. Or we can move them to the vacant space to replace the missing tooth.

If a tooth is badly broken down, orthodontics can take advantage of the natural process of eruption and bring out the healthy part of the tooth and give it a new life.

For all these reasons and more, it is important to consider how tooth straightening can help your dentition. It is common for adults to have orthodontic treatment. Please click to see Dr. Kaufman in Glen Iris, so he can examine the condition of your teeth and explain how treating crowded, tipped or broken down teeth, can help you keep your teeth healthy.

Many times the bone had shrunk following the extraction of the teeth, or because of infections that were present. But that does not mean that implants cannot be placed there. Dr. Kaufman had been using bone grafts to replace the missing bone volume before he places implants.

The most common way to achieve more bone volume is called sinus augmentation. This treatment includes thickening the bony floor of a air filled cavity or sinus,which is just above the teeth in the upper jaw. Once Dr. Kaufman augments the bone, instantly there is enough room to insert an implant or implants there. Or if the bone is missing in the lower jaw, there is a possibility to thicken the bone there too.

If you would like to have missing teeth replaced, please click to see Dr. Kaufman in Glen Iris, so he can examine the condition of your mouth and explain what are your options to restore your smile or the ability to chew well.

Some of us, clench and grid their teeth at night during sleep, while others do it during the day. Tooth clenching and grinding during the day is usually related to stress or exercise. For those reasons it is important to check our jaw tension while driving our car, concentrating in our work or lifting weights. The best remedy for daytime clenching is to be aware of it and release the jaw. Stretching the jaw muscles will help release the tension and will reduce the damages. Another solution is to wear a mouthguard that will separate the teeth and absorb part of the pressure.

Night time bruxism or tooth clenching happens for different reasons. It is usually triggered by a difficulty to breathe or by certain medications. It is important to find the reason to the night grinding, since it can be related to sleep apnoea, reduced quality of sleeping and snoring. Many times clenching and grinding that happens during sleeping hours goes unnoticed. Since we are asleep and even if we have a partner, they will be asleep at that time too.  Please click to see Dr. Kaufman in Glen Iris, so he can examine the condition of your teeth and explain what are your options to protect your teeth and prevent the damages of tooth grinding.

Tooth grinding becomes more of a problem with older children if it interferes with the normal growth and alignment of their permanent teeth. Nighttime clenching can wear down or chip teeth, make teeth more sensitive to hot or cold temperatures, affect your child’s healthy bite, or lead to TMJ (temporomandibular joint disorder). It can also cause earaches and headaches.

Dr. Kaufman starts tracking your child’s teeth with an intraoral camera from their first visit, looking for unusual signs of wear and tear. Once severe wear is detected we will recommend a custom made a mouth guard for nighttime wear.  Please click to see Dr. Kaufman in Glen Iris for an evaluation of child’s tooth wear and grinding habits.

The clear aligners can save time in several manners:

1. When we start an orthodontic treatment with traditional braces, we first need to get all the teeth on the same plane, it is called alignment. The reason is that, wires are straight, so we need to get the teeth in line, to slide over the straight wire. On the other hand we can move teeth with aligners even when they are on different planes.
2. Aligners allow us to start using rubber bands from the start of the treatment. While with braces we need to wait for the wire to be strong before we can use them.
3. With aligners we can use auxiliary appliances that use vibration in order to speed up the treatment. Research had demonstrated that it can shorter  an Invisalign treatment by more than 50%.

To achieve a beautiful smile with straight teeth, please click to see Dr. Kaufman in Glen Iris to embark on your journey to a confident smile. Dr. Kaufman had undertaken additional studies, has a post graduate diploma in Clear aligner therapy and years of experience.

A full face helmet would be fine for those participating in challenging mountain bike rides, but it may be too heavy and cumbersome for a daily commute or an enjoyable trip. For these events a custom made impact resistant mouthguard is the best way to protect your teeth from spills and crashes. Dr Kaufman can make a custom made mouthguard that will protect your teeth at that crucial time of impact. These mouth guards are comfortable to wear, light and will not shift at the crucial time of impact. Please click to see Dr. Kaufman and keep your teeth safe.

But it does not have to be that way. If the wisdom teeth are properly aligned, they can be a valuable assets to the mouth. Wisdom teeth can aid in chewing and grinding food like other teeth and they have an important role in providing support for  the temporo-madibular joint too.

Wisdom teeth can some time replace other extracted, missing teeth or broken down teeth. In the image  we can see that there is a missing  molar and the wisdom tooth is without a space to erupt. Dr. Kaufman had shifted the other teeth, in an orthodontic treatment, to allow for the missing molar to replaced by the wisdom tooth.

Hence it is important before removing a wisdom tooth to check if it can replace another broken down or missing tooth. Please click to make an appointment with Dr. Kaufman to examine your wisdom teeth. We can explain what can be done to keep your wisdom teeth to improve the appearance and function of your mouth.

The transition between baby teeth or primary teeth to permanent teeth is an important milestone that requires careful monitoring. If there are discrepancies in the way the teeth develop, if there are missing teeth, if the jaw develops incorrectly or if the relation between the size of the teeth and the jaw are incorrect it can have severe consequence on the position and health of the mouth. All of these discrepancies can be checked and a plan can be made to correct them as soon as possible.

Our main goal is for the kids to have a great smile that will boost their confidence and allow them to reach their full potential. An early start of the treatment will allow Dr. Kaufman to guide the permanent teeth into their right location and to harness the natural growth of the face and jaws to restore normal occlusion and reduce the need for further orthodontic treatment or shorten the treatment that will be needed when the children are in their older years.