Do You Have A Problem With Your Bite?
Bite issues and what we can do to help at Abbey Road Dental.
There are lots of different problems we can have with our oral health, from our gums, to our jaw, to the soft tissues in our mouth.
One fairly common problems patients have with their oral health is a problem with ‘bite’ i.e. where your teeth don’t fit together how they should. Some issues with bite can cause a person to suffer with pain or aching, and some pain can appear in other ways that you might not associate with a dental problem.
There are also types of bite issues that can be extremely damaging to the teeth, but without producing any pain or problems. If you think you might have a problem with your bite, here is some useful advice:
Clench Your Teeth
Without food or anything else in your mouth, close your teeth together hard. If this causes any pain or discomfort anywhere in your mouth, this is a sign you may have a bite problem. You may find the teeth that react to this test are the same ones that would react strongly to you eating or drinking cold food. This is because they get extra wear and tear in that they get ‘bashed’ first before other teeth come into contact with each other when you close your mouth.
Try squeezing again paying more attention to which teeth feel uncomfortable. Is it the sensitive teeth? If you can make your teeth hurt just by biting down, then it is very possible you have a bite issue. Dentists will often have you do this when you have just had a filling to check it fits in correctly with your bite. You should be able to bite down really hard and grind in lots of ways without feeling any uncomfortable or painful feelings, but a high filling will cause the tooth to be sore and may cause it to be sensitive too. Jaw muscles may also become sore as you try to avoid biting down on the raised tooth surface.
Acknowledge Pain
If biting down really hard hurts your jaw, you may have an issue with your bite; but if you have been dealing with this pain for years you may not acknowledge it any more. You may have a structural issue with the bone, but often the muscles are what cause the pain itself. If this sounds like your problem, then it’s time to take action.
Look For Abnormal Teeth Wear
We can often tell if there is a bite issue when we see severe wear on the teeth. Dentin wears down extremely quickly and looks darker in colour compared to the outer layer of the teeth; so if you see this has been exposed, you need to pop in and see us at Abbey Road Dental as soon as you can. We will be able to figure out what is causing the problem, so please see us before any further damage is caused. Severe wear can cause the nerves to become exposed leading to abscesses and infections, plus there is also extra cost and time involved with severe cases, not to mention the potential for deeper intervention and more invasive procedures too.
Please Call Abbey Road Dental, NW8 For More Information
If you need to register with a new dentist, or want to talk to us about your bite concerns, please call us on 02076241603 and we will be pleased to help.
