Bruxism is another word for tooth grinding. Many people grind their teeth under stress, when they are anxious or, most commonly, while they are sleeping. Grinding the teeth can result in damage to the teeth, excessive wear, jaw injuries, and can even be the root cause of headaches or a symptom of temporomandibular joint disorder (TMJ).

Causes of Bruxism

Although bruxism is relatively common, its exact causes are unknown. Factors that might lead to bruxism include:

• Stress
• Malocclusion (improper alignment)
• Certain medications
• Repressed emotion, especially anger or aggression

In children, bruxism can occur during teething or in response to head or ear pain. In some cases, bruxism seems to be a response to the sleep cycle. A dentist is best able to determine the cause of an individual case of bruxism and to recommend treatment.

Treatments for Bruxism

Although the causes of bruxism remain unclear, several treatments have been developed to reduce the occurrence of teeth grinding and thus to alleviate its side effects. Depending upon the apparent source of the teeth grinding habit, treatments can include:

• Orthotics such as mouth guards to be worn at night
• Correction of misalignment
• Behavior modification
• Stress reduction activities

Dentists can often spot bruxism easily, but determining its cause and the best treatment might require additional trips to the dental office. A qualified dentist in Plano with experience in treating bruxism can help eliminate this damaging habit.

Unfortunately, many people avoid the dentist out of fear. Often that fear arises from a negative experience that happened years ago—sometimes as far back as childhood, when dentistry was not nearly as advanced as it is today. With modern sedation dentistry techniques, reluctant patients in need of a checkup or dental procedure can put that fear to rest and find their way back to the dentist.

The ultimate goal of sedation is to offer the patient a comfortable experience without resorting to a general anesthetic. In sedation dentistry, the patient actually remains conscious, although he will not be aware of the treatment, nor will he remember it later.

Patients can choose from a variety of sedation dentistry techniques. Recently, many patients have opted for needle-free sedation, also known as oral sedation, in which the patient takes an anti-anxiety pill or a substance that induces a hypnosis-like state.  That medication is absorbed through the stomach than distributed throughout the bloodstream. Another, more traditional, method is IV sedation, where the medication is delivered directly into the bloodstream.

Dallas patients can take advantage of sedation dentistry for procedures ranging from cleanings to extractions. Sedation dentistry can be a particularly beneficial to patients in need of complex, lengthy treatments.

It’s also important to note that, while sedation dentistry is often referred to as “sleep dentistry,” you do not actually fall asleep during the process, although you may feel drowsy.

Maintaining good oral health is essential to overall wellness, so you should visit your dentist every six months for a cleaning and checkup that can identify any potential problems. If you do experience anxiety about visiting your dentist, you might consider scheduling an introductory appointment when you can discuss your concerns with your dentist and create a plan for sedation with your care.

Even if you haven’t visited a dentist in years, there’s no need to be ashamed. It only takes one appointment to get back on the right dental track, and knowing that sedation is available may motivate you to schedule and keep that appointment.

It is important to visit the dentist regularly for preventative dental care because there are many diseases and conditions that can occur within the mouth. Some of the diseases that you can contract through dental health can affect your overall health as well such as Gum Disease. Without the proper dental treatment, the issue will only worsen.

A dentist will clean, care for, and treat your teeth, gums, and mouth to ensure optimal dental health. It is recommended that you visit the dentist every six months – more frequently if you are deemed “high risk.”

Normally, oral cancers, and other diseases of the mouth do not make themselves evident to the untrained eye until they are far along. Regular checkups with a dentist can help identify an oral disease in the early stages, thus increasing your chances of successfully combating them.

In between dental visits, daily brushing and flossing helps prevent the onset of cavities, gum disease and improves your overall health. A Plano dentist can tell you more about dental hygiene.

Sterilization procedures are very important to any good dental practice. These are a part of basic care and handling of patients that your dentist must incorporate to be able to give you quality oral health care.  Our mouths are teeming with microbes, and any dental office that sees a large number of patients a day has an inherent potential for spreading infectious germs between patients and dental staff, through contaminated instruments and surfaces. These can be greatly minimized by following proper infection control procedures.

The Centers for Disease Control has laid down infection control guidelines that a dental office should adhere to:

Good dental infection control starts with the dentist’s room itself. A well-ventilated room with air-circulating devices prevents building up of aerosols produced from the dental drills. The sterile dentist and assistant are immunised against hepatitis, wear clean personal protective equipment—a scrub apron, eyewear, disposable gloves and facemasks. The patient is draped, and may be given a protective “face shield” to prevent skin contamination from the dental drill’s water spray. An anti-microbial mouth rinse just before a dental procedure is important to reduce contamination.

The dental chair’s knobs and handles need to be chemically disinfected between patients. All the dental instruments that go into patient’s mouth need to be subjected a high-degree sterilization procedure, such as “autoclaving,” which destroys all microbial contamination. These instruments are then stored in a dry, sterile, contained area such as disposable pouches or cassettes, and removed just before using for the patient. Local injections require disposable needles with single-use syringes or sterile cartridges for each patient.

Surgical procedures require more stringent measures to eradicate all chances of infection and need special preparation of the dentist’s room. The dentist, assistant and patient all need sterilized gowns, and all instruments, drills, suction apparatus has to be completely sterilized. These procedures require sterile saline within the drills. Bone grafts, membranes and suture packets are all intended to be used once opened and cannot be reused at later appointments.

Sarah, a nursing aide by profession who recently got dental implants in Plano, said: “One reason I chose my Plano dentist to have implants was that I could see the utmost importance his office gives to maintaining sterilisation, which I know is crucial to the success of implant surgery. Not only that, it reflects on the commitment my Plano dentist has to care for his patients like his own family!”

Infection control measures not only reduce the chances of getting a dental infection, they also reduce the risk of catching serious diseases like HIV and hepatitis, so choosing a sterile dentist is important to stay healthy!