Many adults suffer from chronic jaw pain and facial pain. Some symptoms include pain around the ear, tenderness of the jaw, pain when biting or headaches. While many things can cause this pain, it can often be hard to diagnose and treat. Here are some common causes and what to do to relieve the pain.

Sinus Problems

The sinuses are air filled cavities located close to the jaw joint. If your sinuses are infected with a virus or bacterium you can have excess mucus that puts pressure on the jaw joint, thus causing the jaw pain. For the pain, over the counter pain relievers can help to ease the pain. If your sinuses are infected, you can also relieve this problem by visiting your doctor to get antibiotics to dissipate the infection.

Infections

An infection called Osteomyelitis affects the temporomandibular joint in your jaw. When this infection can cause fever or facial swelling. Antibiotics can resolve the infection but this condition can cause part of the jawbone to die if not handled correctly. 

Anxiety

Stress and anxiety can lead to tension, tooth grinding and jaw clenching. These can cause damage, uneven wear to the surface of your teeth. This causes uneven pressure on your joints of the jawbone. Limiting stress or finding a solution for your anxiety can help solve some of the discomfort in your jaw. Over the counter pain relievers can also help here to temporarily limit the ache in your jaw.

Tooth Grinding 

Grinding your teeth in your sleep can be an unknown cause. Many people don’t even know that they have this nightly habit until they wake up with jaw pain. Walking up with a stiff jaw could mean that you are a grinder. Grinding your teeth can cause more than just jaw pain, it can cause tooth sensitivity and worn tooth enamel. Grinding your teeth can also cause tension headaches, which can lead to more pain. Visiting your dentist who can provide you a night guard that will help relieve the pressure on your jaw and protect your teeth. 

Arthritis 

Arthritis in the jaw can produce symptoms of TMJ, temporomandibular joint disorder. The progression and severity of TMJ can depend on the arthritis involved. Some of the symptoms of this include chronic inflammation, cartilage deterioration and restriction of movement in the jaw. Catching arthritis early can help the prognosis. In order to diagnose this a dentist or doctor will need to complete an X-ray or a CT scan to look at your jaw bones and joint tissue. 

Mountain View Dental Can Help

No matter your symptoms, Mountain View Dental can help you with your jaw pain with a free consultation and diagnosis. Taking X-rays will be billed to your insurance, but we would love to help you get the relief you need. Getting dental or medical treatment can help keep you from experiencing tooth loss or jaw decay. We want to give you the best care possible and help relive your pain and get back to your normal life.

Not only do we provide diagnosis, we provide general dentistry and orthodontic treatment. We are here to serve your whole family. We take children and adults alike. Located in Pleasant View, Mountain View Dental is happy to serve you and your family. Check out our website and our FAQ page for more information.

Keeping up with the care of your braces involves eating foods that are easy on your front teeth and your braces hardware. Soft foods like yogurt, mashed potatoes, cheese and pasta are recommended for those with braces. But here is a short list of some foods you should probably avoid or change while you are under orthodontic treatment.

Popcorn

Uncooked popcorn kernels are hard and biting down on them could potentially break brackets or wires. The husks of popcorn can also get caught in between your teeth or your hardware and can be difficult to remove. Leaving these husks in spots that can not be reached by brushing or flossing can cause bacteria to build up or irritate your gums.

Ice

Some individuals love to chew on ice after they finish their cold drink, or just for fun. Eating ice chips or ice cubes is one of the most common ways that braces get damaged. Chomping down on the hard material the wrong way could loosen one of your brackets or other wires. 

Meat

Avoiding eating foods with your front teeth is encouraged with braces. Foods like meat can be hard to bite and fibers can get stuck in your braces. It is best to cut meat up into smaller pieces and use your molars to chew these types of foods.  

Sticky Candy

While most candy is off limits while you have braces, sticky substances also contain lots of sugar that is bad for your oral health anyway. Sticky and chewy candy can stick to your brackets and possibly rip them off. Cleaning chewy candy, gum or sticky suckers can be difficult, especially with so many small crevices to get into. 

Raw Veggies

Crunchy vegetables or corn on the cob can be rough on the front teeth and braces. This is another food that should be cut up into smaller pieces. Biting into an apple or eating raw carrots can cause damage to your braces and can be difficult to eat those kinds of foods as well.

Clear Aligners Can Be Another Option

Braces are not the most comfortable process and if you are wanting more options for food, Invisalign can be another option. Clear aligners and Invisalign can give you the option to remove them before eating or drinking. Taking them out before eating can avoid stains or damage to your aligners. 

Mountain View Dental offers traditional braces as well as ClearCorrect aligners for our patients. Orthodontic treatment can make a big difference in your confidence and your smile. Clear aligners offer you that luxury without the look of hardware and brackets.

Why Mountain View Dental

Located in Pleasant View, Mountain View Dental serves residents in Pleasant View, Ogden, Farr West, Marriott-Slaterville, Plain City, South Willard, Willard and Perry. We offer general dentistry, cosmetic dentistry, orthodontic treatment, teeth whitening and more. We take most insurance plans and can give you a quote for services you are seeking. Contact us with all your questions and concerns here.

Having straight, clean teeth can do wonders for one’s self-confidence, as well as their oral health. Properly aligned teeth are easier to keep clean and prevent some serious issues that can result from misaligned teeth and jaws. As such, the question of when is the best time to get orthodontic treatment is one of the most common questions orthodontists get. While there is an ideal age for orthodontic treatment, people of any age can get orthodontic treatment – including those in their 70’s or older! 

Here’s what you need to know about the best time to get orthodontic treatment and what orthodontic treatment entails throughout your life. 

The Ideal Age For Orthodontic Treatment

The American Association of Orthodontists recommends that children be evaluated for orthodontic treatment no later than the age of 7. This is because early orthodontic treatment makes it easier to prevent serious problems from developing and makes the entire treatment process easier and shorter as a whole. This is because when you’re young, before you get all of your permanent teeth, your teeth and jaw are still developing. This makes it so that many think the best time to get orthodontic treatment is early on in life.

When children get orthodontic treatment, it’s possible for your orthodontic to be able to correct any harmful orthodontic habits before they get the chance to impact your child’s permanent teeth, improve your child’s oral health and dental appearance, fix alignment issues, improve your child’s bite, help to guide the growth of the jaw, and reduce the risk of trauma to your child’s teeth. 

The best time to get orthodontic treatment is often considered young like this because there are cases where it’s possible for your orthodontist to be able to achieve results with your child’s smile that would not be possible with adult orthodontic treatment, at least, not without intensive surgery. 

Orthodontic Treatment As A Teen/Child

While the younger the better to make the orthodontic process easier and shorter, the best time to get orthodontic treatment is whenever you have orthodontic problems. When it comes to braces, it’s considered the ideal time is between the ages of 10 and 14. This is because it’s easier to straighten teeth when your jaw is still growing and your permanent teeth are still coming in. There are cases, however, when orthodontic treatment as a teen or a child can be traumatic, which is why it’s best to thoroughly discuss the matter with your child and your orthodontist.

In some cases, your orthodontist may decide that 2-phase orthodontic treatment is best. This is when, as the name implies, your child undergoes two phases of orthodontic treatment. The first is used to help with more major problems and the second with alignment. This is most commonly recommended in cases where your child has more severe orthodontic issues and it would be less traumatic to split treatment into two phases. 

Another reason why the younger years are considered the best time to get orthodontic treatment is because when you have straight teeth, it improves how you talk, how you bite, how you breath, and more. Orthodontic treatment can not only address the way your teeth look, but also your overall health and wellbeing. 

Adult Orthodontic Treatment

Although most people presume that orthodontic treatment is restricted to children and teenagers, this isn’t the case. Adult orthodontic treatment is entirely possible; it can just take longer, due to the fact that your body has finished developing. The best time to get orthodontic treatment is whenever you need it, which means that if you need adult orthodontic treatment, that’s the best time for you to get it. 

It is not uncommon for people’s teeth to shift as they get older. This can mean that even if you had straight teeth growing up, as you age, they can become crooked. Many adults are self-conscious about traditional metal braces, however, there are many different orthodontic treatment options available, such as clear aligners, lingual braces – which are done behind your teeth, ceramic braces, and more. 

When Is The Best Time To Get Orthodontic Treatment?

When you need it! Mountain View Dental offers orthodontic treatments for people of all ages. Whether you are taking your child in for their first orthodontic evaluation to get braces or whether you are an adult who is interested in ClearCorrect to straighten those pearly whites, we can help you. In order to obtain an orthodontic evaluation or consultation, contact our office today!

If you’re of the opinion that fluoride is a chemical additive to dental products that is of questionable safety, then you are not alone. Many people question if fluoride is safe, or if it is actually detrimental to your oral health. There are those who believe that fluoride is to be avoided at all costs, unless you want your teeth to suffer some terrible consequences. Is fluoride safe? Is it actually good for your oral health, or does it do more harm than good? Here’s what you need to know about fluoride and its safety. 

What Is Fluoride?

Fluoride is a naturally occurring mineral that is found throughout nature and the Earth’s crust, even in natural water and food supplies. It’s often referred to as nature’s cavity fighter, because of this, especially considering how fluoride works to strengthen your teeth and help to protect them from decay. Because fluoride is safe and has so many benefits for your oral health, many U.S. cities add it into the water supplies, in order to reduce the amount of cavities the general population gets. 

Fluoride is often used in dental practices to do what it does naturally: strengthen your enamel and stave off cavities. There are plenty of studies that have shown how fluoride in community water supplies and fluoride treatments at the dentist’s office decrease tooth decay. 

What Does Fluoride Do?

It’s important to take the best care of your oral health as possible – you only get one set of natural permanent teeth, after all. Fluoride helps with this, in how it fights off tooth decay. How fluoride strengthens your teeth and prevents cavities is interesting, and shows how fluoride is safe, because it does this through working with your mouth’s natural demineralization and remineralization processes. 

Demineralization refers to when the bacteria in your mouth feeds on carbohydrates and sugar, which ends up weakening your tooth enamel – demineralizing it. Remineralization refers to when the calcium and phosphate ions that strengthen your enamel are replenished, which makes it so that your teeth are more protected, and less prone to decay.

Fluoride works with the demineralization and remineralization processes through protecting your teeth from the damage that demineralization can do to your teeth. It also helps with the replenishment of calcium and phosphate ions during the remineralization process. If your teeth lose too many minerals, this can lead to tooth decay. Fluoride protects your teeth, making it so that acids cannot damage your teeth as easily, which leads to stronger, healthier teeth. 

Is Fluoride Safe?

Yes, fluoride is indeed safe, when it is used properly and with appropriate doses. The same as everything else, it is possible for fluoride to become unsafe, when used incorrectly. Generally, fluoride carries the highest risk for children, if they are exposed to too much fluoride over an extended period of time. This can result in a condition called dental fluorosis, which is when children’s teeth become discolored or have white lines or spots on the enamel. 

Dental fluorosis typically affects children who have not yet had their permanent teeth come in. There are cases with long-term exposure to excessive levels of fluoride that can result in a condition called skeletal fluorosis, which can also affect adults. Skeletal fluorosis is when your bones are affected. 

However, these conditions are rare, and avoidable through using fluoride in the recommended dosages and ways. Fluoride is very safe, it is simply the same as anything else – too much water can make you sick, but that doesn’t mean that water is bad for you. The Centers For Disease Control And Prevention (CDC) has confirmed that fluoride is safe and that there is no evidence that fluoride causes adverse health effects when used correctly. 

Additionally, the American Dental Association (ADA) shows that there are over 125 organizations world-wide that recognize the safety, legitimacy, and benefits of fluoride for your oral health, including the World Health Organization. Is fluoride safe? Yes. When used correctly, it very much is, and is in fact an important part of maintaining good oral health! 

How To Get The Benefits Of Fluoride

Now that we’ve established how fluoride is safe, there are several things that you can do in order to ensure that you are getting those vital benefits fluoride provides, with stronger teeth and lessened tooth decay. You can get the benefits of fluoride through fluoride treatments from the dentist, through fluoride toothpastes and mouthwashes, through fluoride in your water, through fluoride supplements, and more. 

Mountain View Dental can help you ensure that you are both using fluoride correctly and that you are getting enough in order to maintain strong, healthy teeth. We offer professional fluoride treatments designed to improve your dental health, and are more than happy to advise you on the best way for you, personally, to use fluoride. Contact us today, and let’s get your mouth at healthy as can be!

So, you’re at the dentist and they say that you need to have some work done on your teeth that goes beyond a filling. If it’s too much for a filling to fix but not bad enough for you to need an entirely new tooth, you may need a veneer or a crown. Although veneers and crowns both go over your natural tooth, they have different purposes and aren’t interchangeable. Here’s what you need to know about veneers vs crowns so that you can understand which is best for you and why your dentist might recommend one over the other. 

The Differences Between Veneers Vs Crowns

While some can get confused about the differences between veneers vs crowns – understandably – they won’t work for the same kinds of issues. While both veneers and crowns are kinds of dental restoration procedures that improve how your teeth look and function, the one your dentist will recommend will depend on the problem that you’re trying to have fixed and the condition your teeth are in. 

The key difference between veneers vs crowns is that veneers only cover the front part of your tooth while crowns cover the entire thing. But the differences between veneers vs crowns go beyond how much of your tooth they cover. Let’s go over veneers and crowns and their unique purposes to better explain the differences between veneers vs crowns. 

Veneers

As previously mentioned, a veneer is a type of dental restoration that involves a thin layer of porcelain or another kind of material that is bonded to the front of your tooth that is thin enough to feel like part of your real tooth. 

Why You Would Get Veneers

Veneers are unique in that sometimes people get them not only to fix dental problems but also for aesthetic reasons. People will get veneers if they’re unhappy with their smile, like if their teeth are yellowed or stained or have a number of other aesthetic problems, such as chipping, irregular shapes, uneven spacing, and more. Veneers enhance your smile by providing a new surface for the front of your existing teeth. If the surface of your teeth are harmed or make you self-conscious, veneers can be a solution for you. 

The Process Of Getting Veneers

Before you can get a veneer, your dentist will need to ensure that you have enough enamel in order to sustain it, for it to affix to. After that, they’ll trim the enamel of the front of your tooth in order to make it rough enough for the veneer to bond to while still leaving a good portion of your natural tooth intact. They then make an impression of your tooth or make a mold in order to send to a lab to make your veneer. They may put a temporary veneer on your tooth, depending on how much it was ground down. Once the permanent veneer is ready, they’ll bond it to your tooth with a dental cement. 

Crowns

As mentioned before, the key difference between veneers vs crowns is that crowns cover your entire tooth. Crowns don’t preserve as much of your natural tooth as veneers do because of this, since your tooth needs to be ground down in order for the crown to fit over it. In some cases, it may need to be built up, such as if there is significant decay. 

Why You Would Get Crowns

While veneers are typically used for more aesthetic concerns, crowns are more often used in cases of significant decay or damage. Crowns can be used to cover discoloration, but they’re more needed in cases where your tooth has been severely damaged, cracked, broken, worn, decayed, or is weak and needs protection. They’re also used to hold dental bridges in place. 

The Process Of Getting Crowns

Similar to veneers, crowns require your natural tooth to be ground down and for your dentist to make an impression or mold of it to send to a lab in order to make your permanent crown. They’ll put a temporary crown on while your permanent one is being made, then cement the permanent one in place with a dental cement. 

Veneers Vs Crowns: Which Is Right For You?

If you’re wondering about what kind of dental restoration you’ll need and curious about veneers vs crowns, your dentist will be able to tell you based on the kinds of dental concerns you’re facing. For example, if your tooth has very minor damage or just cosmetic issues and is virtually entirely intact, you could go with a veneer. But if it has significant decay or damage or has a large filling that is beginning to fail, you’re better off with a crown. 

Do You Want To Learn More About Veneers Vs Crowns?

Mountain View Dental offers both veneers and crowns. While there are differences between veneers vs crowns, they both are great options for their intended purposes. Whether you need veneers or crowns, we can help you out. If you’re wondering about which one you’ll need, don’t hesitate to contact us today and set up an appointment. We want to help you have strong healthy teeth and a smile you can feel confident in.