NEWS AND ARTICLES

Schedule an appointment today to make over your smile. With this months special pricing on dental implants, there’s never been a better way to brighten your smile. From one tooth to an entire new smile, you will be able to enjoy life to it’s fullest and give yourself a reason to smile all the more

For a better looking smile, we’ve put together a list of the most common questions people will have before starting with their treatment:

• What Are Implant Dentures?
• How Much Do Porcelain Veneers Cost?
• Who Does Dentures And Dental Services?

A better looking smile can be achieved from simple tooth whitening to more elaborate dental services.

ADHD

One of the most common childhood disorders that can continue through adolescence and into adulthood. A person is unable to control behavior due to difficulty in processing neural stimuli, accompanied by an extremely high level of motor activity.17  In ADHD, bruxism is caused by extensive sleep disturbances and medications used to treat the disorder.

Autism

A neurodevelopmental disorder described by impaired social interaction, verbal and non-verbal communication and restricted and repetitive behavior.  Bruxism can be caused by the antipsychotic medications used in its treatment, high stress and anxiety experienced with autism.

Brain Injury

There are many conditions that fall into this category.  The most common include: strokes, brain damage, dementia or Alzheimer’s disease and traumatic brain injuries, including concussions.  Bruxism is a secondary disorder of these conditions.

Cerebral Palsy

Considered a neurological disorder caused by a non-progressive brain injury or malformation that occurs during development of the brain.  This condition primarily affects body movement and muscle coordination.  Bruxism is a secondary disorder due to accompanying abnormal conditions in the oral cavity.  These patients usually have a higher incident of crowding, variable sizes, shapes and misaligned teeth, all which can promote bruxing.  They also experience frequent seizures and are more prone to head and mouth trauma, biting the lips and cheeks and grinding the teeth.  Cerebral palsy patients can have trouble swallowing, chewing and can also be more susceptible to gagging and choking.

Depression

A mental illness that causes sadness.  A patient experiences a mood of sadness or a more severe condition of deep depression with possible suicidal thoughts.  Patients may only have one episode depending on a particular life situation or with most people it is a reoccurring condition.  Episodes may last a few months to many years.  The state of mind including unconscious unresolved emotions and medications taken for depression may cause bruxing.  Depressed individuals wanting to forget their problems tend to turn to alcohol and/or drugs, which is another source of bruxism.

Down Syndrome

Also known as Trisomy 21, is a genetic disorder caused by all or part of a third copy of the chromosome 21.  This condition is usually associated with physical growth delays, characteristic facial features and mild to moderate intellectual disability.  These patients tend to have smaller than average teeth with shorter roots, missing teeth, and a Class III occlusion with crowding.  This crowding results in some permanent teeth being unable to erupt.  Bruxism is a common side effect of these oral conditions.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

An anxiety disorder in which people have unwanted and repeated thoughts, feelings, ideas, sensations (obsessions) or behaviors that make them feel driven to do something (compulsion).  Bruxism can be caused from the anxiety involved and from the side effects of the serotonin reuptake inhibitors medications used to treat this disorder.

Parkinson’s Disease

A chronic and progressive disorder of the central nervous system, which involves the malfunction and death of vital nerve cells–causing a movement disorder.  This condition is often treated with Levodopa, also known as L-DOPA.  The brain converts it into dopamine which aids in body movement.  Bruxism is a side effect of the long-term use of the medication Levodopa.

Sleep Disorders

Conditions include snoring, breathing pauses during sleep, sleep apnea, obstructive sleep apnea, sleep talking or mumbling and consistent nocturnal awakenings.  Violent injurious behaviors during sleep may include hypnagogic and hypnopompic hallucinations, (visual, auditory or other sensory events that occasionally occur with the transition of falling asleep or waking up.)  These sleep disorders, along with the previously discussed mini arousals, prevent a sound consistent sleep and tend to increase the risks of bruising.

Alternately sleeping on the left or right side can determine right or left side bruxing.  Sleeping on one side for a long time may induce unilateral bruxism.  Sleeping in the horizontal supine position (on your back) can lead to bilateral bruxism with a high level of posterior neck pain and stiffness.

Bruxism in Children is very common can be a warning sign for parents that their child my have some psychological problems.

One in five children up to the age of eleven are reported to have sleep bruxism, although the real figure is probably higher as parents often are unaware. Children who brux usually begin at 4-8 years of age.

The numbers increase between 10-14 years of age and then start declining after age fourteen. Many factors associated with children who brux are anxiety, personality, Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and other parafunctional habits.

Anxiety in Children

It is challenging to determine if children have anxiety, although an anxiety state is a prominent factor in the development of bruxing behavior among children. A recent study concluded children with bruxism are more anxiety prone.

Studies of personality traits in bruxism have been limited, but a conclusion was found that children who brux tend to be more tense than children who do not brux. Children with persistent anti-social and aggressive personality traits are diagnosed with having disruptive behavior disorder. Evidence proved anti-social children with persistent behavior problems as they grow older have a range of neurobiological characteristics, including bruxism.

ADHD Correlation

ADHD is considered to be a developmental disorder, mainly neurologic in nature, affecting 5% of the world’s population. Externalizing behavioral problems such as aggression and hyperactivity was proven as a correlation with anxiety and bruxism. This disorder is prevalent with bruxing and children. Children taking ADHD medication also have a higher occurrence of bruxism.

Children tend to have a greater intensity, frequency and duration of parafunctional habits; finger and pacifier sucking and nail biting can increase the likelihood of grinding. These particular oral actions cause a motor stimulus to the central nervous system, which reacts with the alteration in the neurotransmission of dopamine–with the final result being clenching and grinding of teeth.

Affected Ages

Teeth grinding often occurs after children develop their first teeth and again after they develop their permanent teeth. The habit usually stops after the adult teeth are fully formed and erupted. The different heights and sizes of teeth in a mixed dentition causes the natural instinct to want to make the bite feel balanced. The body reacts by wanting to even out the taller teeth with the shorter teeth.

Managing Bruxism In Children

Management of bruxism in children can be challenging. As with adults, a night guard could be a treatment option; however, while children are still growing a night guard would not be the best recommendation. Another recommendation is to try relaxation techniques before bedtime to ease anxiety or restlessness.

Children who fall asleep watching television or listening to the radio are more prone to bruxing at night. Reading aloud to children right before bedtime and having children sleep alone can decrease sleep bruxism.

I would like to talk about a subject that is often misunderstood. It has been made both unnecessarily complicated and unnecessarily simplified by Dental professionals and patients.
So let’s break down the subject of tooth grinding, also known as Bruxism.

I can’t blame anyone for not understanding why people grind their teeth. Look through history and you will see that you are definitely not alone in our confusion. Starting back in the early 1900’s it has been blamed on “traumatic neuralgia” and the cause of Periodontitis (severe gum disease). Even Sigmund Freud added his two cents and said that it stemmed from one’s psychosexual development.

It wasn’t until the late 1960’s where the concept of occlusal interferences and malocclusion was developed. This is just a fancy way to say that your teeth don’t fit together right. This theory would be the predominate way of thinking for the next fifty years.

However, the most recent research identifies that bruxism is the result of many factors. These factors include:
• Lifestyle
• Stress
• Sense of comfort or well being
• Medications
• Mental and physical disorders
• Malocclusion

Text Book Definition of Bruxism

Bruxism is the involuntary gnashing, grinding, or clenching of teeth. It is usually an unconscious activity, whether the individual is awake or asleep; often associated with fatigue, anxiety, emotional stress, or fear and frequently triggered by occlusal irregularities. This usually results in abnormal wear patterns on the teeth, periodontal breakdown, and joint or neuromuscular problems.

While grinding and bruxism are used interchangeably I want to make it clear that clenching and grinding are separate actions.

Clenching is defined as clamping the teeth together firmly and tightening the jaw muscles while grinding/bruxism involve repetitive movement of the TMJ with the teeth held together and/or by bracing or thrusting the mandible.

Two Categories of Bruxism

• Primary (idiopathic) is when the behavior is not related to a medical condition
• Secondary (iatrogenic) is when the behavior is related to a medical condition, i.e. side effects of medications, neurological or developmental disorders.

Primary bruxism can be further divided into two types: awake and sleep.

Awake Bruxism

Awake bruxism happens during the day with clenching being more prominent. It is defined as awareness of jaw clenching and appears to be semi-voluntary. It is usually correlated with high anxiety and stress.

Awake bruxism is relatively common involving 20% of the adult population and 18% of children. It effects females more than males. Awake bruxism symptoms usually worsen throughout the day. Clenching during the day increases the risks of clenching or grinding at night.

Sleep Bruxism

Sleep bruxism occurs at night while sleeping with grinding being more prominent. It is defined as a sleep-related movement and is involuntary. It occurs in about 8%-10% of the population, with a lack of awareness from about 80% of the bruxers. It effects both males and females equally. Sleep bruxism symptoms are usually worse in the morning, especially upon waking, and improve during the day.

It has been shown the majority (86%) of sleep bruxism episodes occur during periods of sleep arousal as a person goes from a deeper stage of sleep to a lighter stage of sleep and may also be accompanied by increased heart rate, respiratory changes and muscular activity, such as leg movements.

A typical sleep cycle is 90 to 110 minutes of sleep with three to five cycles per night. Sleep is determined by two categories: non-REM (quiet sleep) and REM (active sleep). There are four stages of sleep. Stages 1-2 are light sleep and stages 3-4 are deep sleep, with REM occurring in the third stage.

A micro-arousal is a shift in sleep occurring in the deeper sleep. In this stage there are 3-10 second rises in brain activity, heart rate and muscle tone. Micro-arousals occur 8-15 times an hour, leaving bruxism secondary to these arousals. More destructive bruxers have greater amount of episodes and time in the REM stage.

Bruxism is very common in children as well, and we’ll cover this in Part II.

We want to recognize those who have and are serving our country. Because of their selfless service, we are blessed with the freedoms some can only hope for.

On Monday we celebrated Memorial Day and had the chance to honor those who have fallen. The holiday began as Decoration Day, celebrated every May 30 following the Civil War. General John A. Logan, in 1868, called for a nationwide day “designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village and hamlet churchyard in the land.”

The date, May 30, was chosen because it wasn’t the anniversary of any particular battle. In 1968 the Uniform Monday Holiday Act was passed, establishing the last Monday in May as Memorial Day in order to give federal employees a three day weekend. In 1971 this change went into effect and the day became a federal holiday.

Please thank a soldier today.

Congratulations to our newest “No Cavity Club” winner!!!

Best wishes to our patients, friends and families as we begin 2016! Thank you for allowing us to be a part of your health.
Here’s to everyone’s hopes and goals for this upcoming year!!