Grinding, gnashing or clenching teeth is known as Bruxism or teeth grinding. You may unconsciously clench or grind your teeth during the day or night (Sleep Bruxism). Usually Bruxism is mild and doesn't even need treatment. When it is frequent and severe it can cause jaw disorders, damaged teeth, headaches or other chronic facial pains. If you have sleep Bruxism, you probably are not even aware of it. If your teeth are worn down, chipped, flattened or fractured, are more sensitive or your enamels are worn and deeper layers of your teeth are showing you might want to call your dental office and get an appointment. Jaw pain or tightness in jaw muscles, enlarged jaw muscles, earache which is not due to a problem with your ear, chewed tissue inside your cheek or indentations on your tongue are other symptoms of teeth grinding.
It's not clear what causes teeth grinding. Stress, anxiety, suppressed anger or frustration, side effects of some medications and some disease are said to cause Bruxism. Abnormal alignment of lower and upper teeth can also cause teeth grinding. In children response to pain from teething or earache and growth of jaws and teeth are known to be causes of teeth grinding, but it will usually go away as they grow. Just consult with a dentist to make sure your teeth are not getting damaged.

In case teeth grinding is severe, the cause of it should be determined first. If it is because of dental problems, correcting misaligned teeth could be the first step. As a dentist, I suggest using mouth guards or other protective dental appliances such as splints during the night. They don't prevent teeth grinding but at least protect the teeth and minimalize the damage. Splints fit over upper and lower teeth and are made of hard acrylic. Mouth guards are available over-the-counter, but usually don't fit properly and move around in the mouth. I prefer to make custom mouth guards for my patients to make sure it exactly fits their mouth. As a dentist I advise night guards that fit over all your lower and upper teeth.

As a kids dentist I do not recommend any treatment for the children's grinding. This is due to dynamic growth and reshaping of the teeth and jaws of the children.
However, I have a very innovative and proven 80 % to prevent grinding and this treatment called NTI (Tension Suppression System). This treatment system has been effective for most migraine headaches too.  Mostly, eliminates grinding habits as well completely.  That's why I suggest it as a kids dentist to use it to prevent damage to teeth if you have teeth grinding problem. 

It's important to have nice, bright colored teeth. With healthy white teeth, people feel less self-conscious and smile more often. The appearance of facial wrinkles is minimized and the face looks more youthful with whiter teeth. Orthodontic treatments can regulate the jaw alignment and enhance the way teeth look, but in order to have whiter teeth, whitening or bleaching procedures should be performed on the teeth.

Naturally teeth darken over time and as we age. Consuming coffee, tea, cigarettes and cola soft drinks can contribute to discoloration of them, too. Some medications and post orthodontic treatments can cause tooth discoloration. Some people naturally have brighter or thicker enamel than the others, so genetics is another contributor. Excessive fluoride, usually in water or some mouth rinses and tooth pastes, is another reason for discoloration of the teeth. Tooth whitening, which is actually a cosmetic dental treatment, is very popular among the patients for restoring the natural color of the teeth and enhancing the smile. Professional teeth whitening done in a dental office is another treatment that can be used for the same purpose. In office teeth whitening only the color of the teeth is lightened. In teeth whitening the brown and yellow stains on the teeth are removed and quite a number of techniques can be used to do so. The new advanced technologies used in this field are very effective, faster and more comfortable.

When our patients come in for whitening, it's interesting to observe their feelings and facial expressions before and after the procedure. They are usually self-conscious and shy when they ask for whitening, and are somehow embarrassed by how their teeth look. Sometimes they even try to explain why they need to get their teeth whitened. After the procedure, when they look in the mirror to see their just whitened teeth, I feel refreshed by the expression on their face and their new beautiful smile. They always smile when they walk out of the office.

Maria is one of our patients at United Dental Care who lost several teeth in a car accident last year. She had to stay in the hospital for 6 weeks for her other injuries and had to go through several surgeries. She was not much eager to get out of the hospital even after a full recovery and was pretty depressed and had completely lost her self-esteem when she came to us. Losing her teeth was a bad experience; she felt embarrassed in front of the others, she had lost her eating ability and other people find it hard to understand what she said, due to difficulty of correct pronunciation of words.

Dentures are the best solution when you have lost several of your teeth. They are made of either porcelain or plastic and look just like natural teeth. They resemble teeth and gum and give you a natural look by supporting lips and cheeks. Unfortunately they don't last forever; jaws gradually change and body reabsorbs the bones. Therefore, the fit of the dentures change in time, so they have to be adjusted every once in a while and you need to get them replaced every 5 to 7 years. Also, you could prevent the bone lost from using dentures by over denture implants. Over dentures are secured into the implants and prevent bone lost, loss of dentures and accidental removal of dentures.
In several sessions, we prepared Maria's mouth for placing the denture. We extracted the few remaining teeth and waited for the tissue to heal. Meanwhile we made a set of dentures that would match the structure of her jaw and fit perfectly in her mouth. The day finally arrived and the dentures were placed in her mouth. She was a little dismayed to find out that keeping the dentures in your mouth and using them needs some getting used to, but now, after a couple of weeks, she is appreciating the regained eating and talking ability and had gained her self-confidence back. 

I had such a great experience at Culver City Dentist office. Both staff and doctor were grate. From the first phone call to the appointment day and even after I left the office they were all there for me all the way.

I wanted to do a check up so I searched for a dentist online and I called few offices until finally I talked to the receptionist at the United Dental Care. She was so nice and understanding. She did any thing she could to accommodate me the time and the day that I wanted to go in. The day before she called and confirmed my appointment and thank God she did so because I had totally forgotten about it.

 

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Dr. Eftekhari has practiced and trained to build a dental practice that exceeds your expectations of trusted, personalized dental care. He focuses on bringing his patients only the best that dentistry has to offer by keeping himself and his staff informed on the latest advances and techniques in dentistry. Dr. Eftekhari is a graduate of Marquette University School of Dentistry, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He stays up-to-date on the newest developments in his field by taking numerous continuing education courses. These have included communication in esthetic dentistry, infection control, computerized modern dental technology, oral pathology, and pediatric oral conscious sedation. In addition, he is an affiliate member of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry.

Dr. Eftekhari's top priorities are patient satisfaction and comfort. He looks forward to your visit to United Dental Care and to showing you the positive effects that quality dental care can have on your life.