Archive for the ‘TMJ’ Category

I need a dental implant to replace an extracted tooth. How long can I wait?

Monday, January 18th, 2010

Hello-
Last month I had a tooth removed, and it seems like the teeth around the space look different now. There are wider gaps between the surrounding teeth and their neighbors, but I can’t believe my teeth could shift in just a month. Should I check with my dentist? We have not set a date for when I will get a dental implant, as I am trying to save up the money to pay cash for it.
Thanks for your help,
Jane from Kissimmee

Dear Jane,
You are right to be concerned. Your teeth almost certainly have shifted in the month since you had your tooth extracted, and you should talk to your dentist about getting a replacement of some kind in as soon as possible. Even a temporary removable partial denture (called a flipper) would be better than nothing.

Spacing issues are the most visually obvious consequence of a missing tooth, but you should also know that the opposing tooth (the tooth that “lines up” with your missing tooth in the opposite jaw) will super erupt in an effort to meet up with the missing tooth. The changes in spacing and in your bite due to shifting teeth could easily cause you to start experiencing problems with your temporomandibular joint, commonly called TMJ.

As you can see, even one missing tooth can have a profound, cascading affect on your overall oral health. Talk to your dentist as soon as possible about alternatives to prevent any more shifting.

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My teeth are worn down from grinding

Friday, September 26th, 2008

My teeth are worn down from grinding. I have some teeth worn down and the enamel is worn thin. What procedure do you suggest? Could I wear a mouth guard after this. I have one missing tooth on the side.
- Carol from Texas

Carol,
A lot of people have a grinding problem, and it does cause your teeth to get worn down. What we would do in a situation like that depends on how badly they’re worn and what effects you’re having from it. It’s good that you’re aware of your grinding problem. Since most grinding occurs at night, many patients who grind their teeth aren’t even aware of it. But it can cause a variety of problems.

If the wearing down just affects the front teeth, then they can be lengthened with porcelain veneers. But that has to be done very carefully because if the teeth are lengthened and you are still grinding, you could grind away the new teeth or break them off. So a careful analysis has to be done of your bite. And then after the teeth are restored, there needs to be some protection provided, such as a mouthguard.

In extreme cases, all the teeth may need to be built up again. Sometimes the grinding is such a problem that all the teeth are worn down, causing what is called bite collapse or facial collapse, and this can lead to headaches or other problems that are characterized as TMJ problems. Building up the teeth is usually done with crowns. And while this is expensive to fix, it provides great relief to some patients who experience pain every day.

About the mouthguard, this may be an important part of your treatment. And if the grinding hasn’t caused too much damage to your teeth, this could be all that you need.

Related links:
See Dr. Goldstein’s blog posting answering a question about how to fix short teeth.
Read about the cost of Lumineers.
Cleveland Lumineers.

Posted in Porcelain Veneers, TMJ | Comments Off