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 amazing how such a small tooth can cause you the worst possible pain! If you feel a dull ache in your tooth, consult with your dentist as soon as you can. If you need a root canal treatment you'd better do it now than later. The dull ache, which can go away by a couple of pain-killers in the beginning, can later turn into the worst pain you have ever experienced. If you don't get a root canal treatment in time, your dentist might have to extract the infected tooth. Last Friday, Richard, a walk-in patient, came in complaining about severe toothache. He had visited his own dentist before and was referred to a periodontist for a root canal treatment. He had called the periodontist and to his dismay had found out that the first availability was for another 2 weeks. He had decided to put up with the pain for the time being and wait for his appointment, but the pain had increased in severity and made him frustrated. He had used several pain-killers for 3 days and finally decided to get a root canal treatment as soon as possible. He had no luck in getting an appointment until he was referred to our clinic. Our periodontist is always present at the office and we managed to squeeze him in as an emergency patient in our busy schedule. Richard practically drifted off after the needle-free dental anesthesia (he also had needle anxiety and had put off the root canal treatment for quite a long time because of it). Anesthesia, along with the several pain-killers he had taken before, and a couple of sleep-less nights put him to sleep. We managed to save his tooth with a root canal treatment despite the infection and he was certainly relieved to find the pain gone when he came around.

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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I remember the braces kids used to wear back then when I was in school. Those days braces were metal bands that had to be worn around the mouth and face. Most kids despised braces and would not be caught dead wearing them. During each visit to the dentists, I used to constantly hope my orthodontist would not tell me I needed braces.

I later learned how effective braces are in regulating the alignment of the jaw and controlling the way teeth grow. Most of tooth decays, gum diseases and other problems can be solved by early orthodontic treatments in childhood. The best time to start orthodontic treatments is around age seven, when permanent teeth are starting to grow.
Thanks to the developments in orthodontic treatments in recent years, braces have dramatically changed. There is no sign of metal bands or those brackets that covered each tooth anymore. Treatment duration is shorter and the patients experience much less discomfort. Now you can choose the color of the brackets and even the ties holding the wires in them. This makes a lot of our young patients less reluctant toward braces, and they can have beautiful smiles and healthier teeth.

A couple of weeks ago Andrew, a regular young patient of ours, came in with his mother for an appointment with the orthodontist. It was decided in the previous sessions that he needed braces. He had decided he didn't like braces and didn't want to wear them. He had come to our office quite reluctantly and would not let us start preparing his teeth. We talked to him about the necessity of braces and explained how they work. We showed him the new braces and he was happy to see that they were not that noticeable. He was really excited about choosing the colors and constantly talked about it during the preparation. He looked happy when he finally left the office with shiny blue-colored braces. Watching kids leave a dental clinic happily and comfortably reminds me why I established United Dental Care in the first place.