Q.

Hello Doctor,
what does TMJDS stand for in dentistry? I wen to out of hours clinic last night with a very sore gum and shooting pains at the side of my mouth right up to my head, they gave me anti biotics to treat an infection although they said it could be TMJDS due to grinding my teeth, which I am not aware I do this, can you explain this to me please? as I would like to know what I can do to prevent it happening as the pain in unbearable, many thanks

Q.

Hi Dr Glaister,

I would be really grateful for your opinion on this please. I am a 27 year old woman and I think I am suffering from perhaps not bruxism, but teeth clenching. I can feel myself wanting to clench my teeth together during the day, and in the mornings when I wake up my back teeth feel sort of tender. I don’t think I have a particularly sore jaw though. I have been told I have an open bite (my front teeth don’t meet but the back and sides do), and that there are signs of clenching/grinding in my mouth, namely a sort of frilly pattern on the edges of my tongue, ridges on the insides of my cheeks and maybe slight wear on my teeth. I also suffer from frequent headaches, and a bit of back and neckpain, However I spend time sitting at a computer too, so there are confounding factors. I think I have been suffering from this problem on and off for years, with its severity varying (at times I have not been aware of it at all). Getting to the point what I want to know is what kind of device you would reccommend for wearing at night for this? I had a soft guard made years ago, but I felt this made my teeth even more tender in the morning, and it was uneven in height so the back teeth seemed even closer together in comparison to the front ones (although I apprecaite that it still must have been protecting my teeth). Is a hard guard likely to be better as I would not be so inclided to clench down on this? What do you think of the NTI? Can any of these devices cause permanent changes in bite alignment, and do you know of any adverse effects these can cause if worn for long periods of time? Many thanks for your help.
P.S. I read another of your posts and thought I should mention I am also an ex-citalopram user and an ex-vegetarian!

Q.

Hello,

I have slightly squint front teeth which I have had attached braces for during my teens. However over time they seem to be slightly squint again.

I’d like to get Invisalign-do prices begin at around the 3000 mark or can it be cheaper in milder cases?

Also I grind my teeth during my sleep and wear a gum shield to protect my teeth during the night. Would I still be able to have Invisalign? Would it stand up to my grinding?
I need a new gum shield every 8 months or so.

Thanks,

Q.

hi my 5 yr old daughter grinds her teeth in her sleep and has worn her top teeth down there really small but her bottom teeth look fine im really worried about the same thing happening when her new teeth come through and wondered if there was anything i could do to prevent this.

Q.

Hi, I Have a problem with teeth grinding. I have been to a dentist and have recieved preventative treatment, in the form of a mouthguard to sleep with, but am concerned that the damage has already been done and would like options on cosmetic dentistry for this problem. My teeth, in every other aspect are perfect, straight and white but as a result of grinding are quite small. Would this be a major cosmetic procedure?

Q.

I am clenching my teeth during night time and I have prevented it, but unfortunately, my 2 upper front teeth changed size, because of the grinding.. What do I need to fix these? I don’t have any broken tooth, the problem is they are not on their right shapes.. they decreased because of the clenching.

Q.

in the past i had problem with teeth grinding. this has worn my teeth right down . the question i wanted to ask you is .what is the treatments you can offer me and roughly what cost . thank you

Q.

Hi Andrew,  I´m 24 and when I was younger (14 or so) I wore braces to correct my two top front teeth because they were really crooked. The braces have resulted in me having perfectly straight teeth, but ever since then, every so often, my teeth feel like they are moving, a slight click. A couple more years have passed and I admit I´ve been through emotional strain, but the teeth feel different in my mouth, like they have moved, and sometimes it feels like I can feel my heartbeat vibrate in them. They don’t feel wobbly as such, but I´m paranoid about losing one. What shall I do, what is causing all of this?

Thankyou

Q.
Hello Andrew, I have just the one filling (UL6) which I have had for approx 15 years (I am 32). The filling was replaced approx ten years ago and was fairly large (covered back half of tooth). At some point during the early summer I somehow broke the filling in half (I grind my teeth in sleep, so this could have been the reason!) and stupidly did not go to my dentist straight away as the only symptom I had was pain when drinking iced drinks. Last weekend I developed severe pain, which felt similar to that I had with an abscess on my wisdom tooth in my teens, so I assumed that the cracked filling had led to an infection. I did not however expect to need RCT though for the following reasons: No sensitivity to percussion No pain on biting Not sensitive to heat Pain was only intermittent No discolouration However, after a sleepless night I went to Guys hospital as an emergency case to have the tooth looked at and some antibiotics prescribed while I awaited my dental appointment. The student agreed that it did not sound like I needed RCT after the exam but ordered x rays just to be sure. The x rays came back with very slight dark areas around the base of the roots of that tooth so he said that RCT would indeed be required. He said he would double check with his supervisor (who agreed but appeared to be newly qualified himself, so I was not confident). I expressed concern with having RCT as I am aware that it kills the tooth and so makes it brittle (I am a teeth grinder, so worried that it would not last long, in addition to the fact that I had orthodontic treatment as a child and so had already lost two upper molars!), However I was told that it was the only option and the first part of the surgery was carried out (they did not have all the tools so only removed some of the pulp and nerves and added sponge and a temp filling, but I am told the bulk of pulp was removed). I was advised that as I had lost quite a bit of tooth, a white crown would not fit properly, I would eventually need a gold crown as they are thinner. I visited a new dentist in London today, who told me that he can finish the job, but would advise me to choose private as he will then be able to fit a white crown (despite my previous advice) and will use tools not available as an NHS patient. I was the only person in the waiting room not on benefits, so I assume he was just making the most of actually seeing a patient that was able to afford private treatment but my questions are as follows: In light of my lack of symptoms, was RCT really necessary or would a course of antibiotics and a standard filling not have been suitable as a first course of action? If this is the case and some of my pulp and nerves are still intact, do I need to proceed with completing this or could the sponges be removed and a standard filling placed to retain the life of my tooth? Is a private RCT really more successful than an NHS treatment due to ‘better tools’? Or is it only the quality of the crown which differs? At the moment I am still suffering sensitivity to cold touch on the side of the tooth, a kind of dull throbbing as if it would hurt if I still had all my nerves and pain if I sneeze or bend down, so I assume the tooth is still alive at the moment! This dentist that I am supposed to go back to next week also did not advise on me taking antibiotics as he said that they would only kill the good bacteria as well as the bad. Have I been given an unnecessary RCT and am I being ripped off by being advised to switch to private treatment?
,

Q.
I grind my teeth when sleeping. My front teeth are fractured and worn a little. How would the grinding afffect veneers?,