Do you enjoy scuba diving? Deep sea exploration is certainly a fun and exciting sport, especially in an exotic location! Before any big diving trip, most enthusiasts gear up on wetsuits, goggles, oxygen tanks and other equipment, but have you ever thought that mouth piece you’re wearing to get your oxygen can cause you dental problems?
This person was properly fitted for her mouthpiece!
Scuba diving is a sport enjoyed by over 4 million people a year, and if you dive, get yourself a proper fitting mouth piece to prevent jaw, teeth and gum problem! If you have a mouthpiece that is not fitting right for you plus the pressure changes from diving, you could suffer from what’s known as “diver’s mouth syndrome,” a painful condition caused by a ill-fitting mouthpiece that irritate your mouth, or you have been clenching your jaw very hard combined with the drop in air pressure as you explore beneath the ocean’s surface.
The mouthpiece that regulates oxygen flow from your oxygen tank to your lungs not only delivers fresh air, but it protects your teeth while diving. The tendency to clench your teeth while diving is very common, and because most standard scuba-diving mouthpieces will not really fit your mouth perfectly, the mouthpiece tends to put unnecessary pressure on the gum and jawbone. So biting hard into the mouthpiece, your gum could be full of lacerations and you could suffer from jaw joint pain or toothache as well after your trip is finished. If the pain lasts for over several days, you could even have a TMJ problem, which will take time to recover.
The best prevention is to make sure you are in good dental health before the trip, and to visit your dental professional who can evaluate how well your mouthpiece fits. Also, if you have recently undergone orthodontic treatment or have an extracted tooth (or temporary fillings), you must be extra careful and see your dentist before diving! Enjoy the under water world and be safe!
If you’re an athlete, you should wear a mouth guard. No matter what type of contact sport is at hand, sports-related dental injuries are extremely common, accounting for more than 600,000 emergency room visits each year alone! Chipped and broken teeth, jaw bone injuries and concussions to the brain are just a few of the many serious injuries athletes face which can be prevented with the use of a mouth guard. If you’re one of 4 million scuba diving enthusiasts, a good fitting mouth piece could prevent jaw joint pain, toothache or gum irritation when coming to the surface. For ultimate performance, a mouth guard will reposition the jaw to properly open the airway and increase the oxygen intake, which can be very beneficial for athletes who posses deep bite issues.
Always wear a mouth guard during sports!
Besides preventing sports injuries [and other benefits of wearing a properly fitted mouth guard], one should look into other aspects of the mouth guard. In particular, the proper cleaning and storing of your mouth guard will prevent it from growing harmful bacteria and mold which could be life-threatening. Noted in a recent dental publication in the September/October 2007 issue of General Dentistry, mouth guards “harbor large numbers of bacteria, yeasts and molds that can possibly lead to life and/or health-threatening infectious/inflammatory diseases.”
The material used in mouth guard construction is not completely solid – like most plastics, the surface of a mouth guard is porous, and can harbor microscopic bacteria if not cleaned and stored properly. If these tiny organisms are allowed to grow and multiply, the mouth guard which is meant to protect you could actually be harming your teeth, gums and bodily health.
To assure a clean and properly functioning mouth guard, both your mouth and the mouth guard should be clean before wearing it. Be sure not to share guards between team members. Once you are finished with the mouth guard, brush it with toothpaste and rinse it under running water. Once the guard has been properly cleaned, store it in an open air container – a sealed space will promote bacterial growth.
Getting your mouth guard over the counter might work for some of you, but it would be best to bring it into your dentist’s office and have it checked for a proper fit – you may need to have a custom piece made. A poorly fitting mouth guard is useless, and your health is invaluable.
If your eyes are the gateway to your soul, your smile is the gateway to your heart. There are many factors that contribute to a beautiful smile in my line of work, but teeth whitening is one of the simplest ways to give your smile a brighter, whiter lease on life.
When we are children, our deciduous teeth (baby teeth) are bright, white and full of life – that is, until they fall out and are replaced by permanent teeth. From this point onward, our teeth are exposed to a multitude of conditions which endanger the white enamel surface of the tooth. Foods, dark liquids such as tea, coffee, red wine and caffeinated beverages, smoke and even some prescribed medication can all cause your teeth to loose their whiteness. A history of dental trauma can also cause tooth discoloration, which would require a different approach to reach the desired whiteness. Generally speaking, the teeth bleaching only applies to oxidizing normal tooth enamel. Whitening will not change the color of any dental restorations, and should not be used on darker root structures of the tooth or with tetracycline staining. Sometimes, cosmetic procedures such as porcelain veneers or bonding would be a better solution, in which case a consultation with your dentist would be necessary.
There are two ways to whiten your teeth: with whitening kits, and laser whitening (power bleaching). Over-the-counter kits to whiten teeth are sold both at your local pharmacy and from your dentist’s office. Custom fitted kits sold from your dentist’s office include retainer-like trays which are made from custom impressions of your teeth, whereas over-the-counter varieties are not as effective. The active ingredient breaks down into hydrogen peroxide, which oxidizes the stain deposits in the enamel of your teeth. Application is done for a few hours per day, for one to two weeks. The advantage to whitening kits is that you can keep your impression trays for future use, and only have to buy the whitening gel again. Regular dental check ups are necessary to make sure your teeth are healthily receiving the bleaching process.
Laser whitening is the method to whiten teeth I use in my office. Employing the use of an argon laser enables fast, painless and safe whitening of the teeth without potentially harmful UV damage, or heat which can irritate the pulpal tissues of the teeth. Arc lamps, a more common light-based whitening treatment, use energy that comes in a wide range of electro-magnetic waves, which could cover from the UV range into the infrared (heat) range, which could pose a health risk. Also, arc lamps can cause pulpal inflammation, leading to heightened gum sensitivity. The laser whitening process takes about 1 hour, providing instant gratification of the whitening results and the convenience of minimum work at home.
For the best teeth whitening results, I usually recommend my patients use a combination of in-office laser whitening, and usage of our take home kit, allowing for touch-up treatment by the patient at the convenience of one’s own time and own place. Once the desired bleaching result is reached, with proper care, it can last up to 3 years. If touch-up bleaching is needed, the time investment is extremely low (almost instant).
Remember, your smile is the gateway to your heart! Let it shine!
When I examine a patient’s mouth, I often inform them “You have been grinding your teeth at night! If you’re grinding at night as well, please take a vacation – doctor’s orders!” We laugh, then get serious about what was just said. Common responses from patients include:
“How do you know that I grind my teeth?”
“Why do I grind my teeth?”
“I sleep with my mouth open; I do not grind my teeth!”
“Yes, I know, but I do not want to wear a night guard!”
Let’s have a discussion.
Teeth grinding is a multifactorial phenomenon, it can originate from bite problems, posture problems, stress, diet or even certain oral medications. You may experience one or multiple symptoms of night grinding, including sensitive teeth, receding gums, teeth chipping, teeth movement, flat teeth, broken teeth, damaged dental restorations (such as fillings), and even headaches and a sore jaw .
Usually, during the day, there is space between your upper and lower teeth – the teeth are not in contact, they come in contact only when they are being used to chew food. Eating food exerts approximately 5 – 10 pounds per square inch of loading force. This is normal and will not create wear and tear issues in the tooth structure. At night however, during sleep, facial muscle contractions (like the Masseter muscle) generate a much greater force, anywhere from 300 to 500 or even up to 1000 pounds per square inch of force! This is very powerful, and very destructive.
So how do we fix the problem? Management of night grinding can be approached from several angles. By wearing a night guard, immediate protection is provided when sleeping. The design of the night guard can be as simple as a thin coat of silicon rubber material which is custom-molded to fit over your teeth, or can be highly specialized to help realign your jaw when made from acrylic. Ask your dentist about this.
Grinding your teeth at night (bruxism) occurs during the REM (Rapid Eye Movement) cycle of sleep, for light sleepers. If restful sleep can be induced, the REM cycle of sleep can be reduced, contributing to a more peaceful night for your mind and also your body (including your facial muscular system). This means less grinding!
Achieving restful sleep can be tricky, there are many techniques: meditation to clear your mind in preperation for a restful night of sleep, deep and slow breathing, and cutting out sugar and caffeine in the PM hours will all be helpful.
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problem, which will take time to recover.
