I Can't Breathe, And My Teeth Are Shrinking!

Years ago, I could swear people were coming to me with signs of freshly ground tooth enamel or broken teeth and crowns. I could literally watch the teeth being carved down over the course of hygiene visits. So I would ask them if they were aware of a habit that would make that happen. "No," they would shrug. "I don't." The only thing I and my patients could agree on was that they didn't grind their teeth during the day.

I know tooth wear is not typical. In fact, our brains do not allow our teeth to touch, even when we eat. If they do touch, it's called parafunction, or an abnormal function. So I was puzzled for a long time. It's frustrating when you know there's a reason for an occurrence, but you can't identify it.

What I started to recognize around 2005 was that patients informed me more often about obstructed breathing in their medical histories. Then I started to make a tally of which of these patients had tooth damage  and which didn't. And then I compared them to the patients who were not claiming obstructed breathing disorders. I noticed that all patients I saw who had a sleep breathing disorder were manifesting tooth wear.  The literature showed that this was occurring in a cause-and-effect fashion: When your airway closes, your brain instructs your jaw to move to open your airway. Your teeth can be in the way, and over time, will suffer damage in attempts to remedy obstructed airflow.

We work closely with specialists to determine if you have a breathing disorder, and we treat sleep breathing disorders with oral appliance therapy. We just so happen to treat teeth as well. Call us to schedule an appointment today.

Sugar For Kids = Tooth Decay, Obesity, Apnea, Etc.

Yet another recent study connecting childhood obesity to sugar-containing beverages has been released.

I established how detrimental sugar is in a previous post.  But what stems from sugar beverages goes beyond tooth decay for me.  My experience with overweight kids is that they are significantly more likely to develop obstructive breathing disorder, or apnea. This breathing disease is likely to occur before adulthood in moderate to morbidly obese kids.  The Academy for Dental Sleep Medicine has really opened my eyes to the global significance of pediatric apnea.

When I see apneic patients, I almost always witness some element of tooth grinding or TMJ problem.  It's not consistently problematic in all apneic kids or adults, but there is usually one or more of the following issues we see: uncommonly sore jaw and head muscles, abnormal tooth wear, and sometimes TMJ joint pain. None of those things are common problems for children. ANd they are simply abnormal signs for people in general.

The literature has conflicted over the years about the connections between apnea and tooth grinding (also known as bruxism), but I know there is a relationship between obesity and tooth grinding.  And the sleep study summaries come back on these teeth grinders describing obstructive apnea.

But the main point of this post is this: Don't let your kids become obese.  There are a number of different diseases that will stem from a poorly governed diet and lifestyle for your kids.

If you have questions about managing childhood obesity, pediatric apnea, tooth decay, or nutritional choices for your children, please do not wait for a pediatric medical clinic visit. Call us for a consultation.

Maybe medical insurance...?

We cannot guess what reimbursements exist for medical applications in dentistry. We have to rely on many resources and colleagues to help us over the hurdles when patients ask us to help them wade through the medical claims arena.

We have improve our relationships with medical insurers over the past 5-10 years. We now see a more common reimbursement for temporomandibular (TMJ) therapy, head pain therapy, implant surgery, and a few other services. But it's not a guarantee. Every patient has a different policy with different terms. But we do check, and we notice the climate for medical reimbursement is a bit more sunny for patients than it used to be.

Recently, the pharmaceutical company Allergan invited me to sign on to a Botox reimbursement service. Allergan has counselors who do the homework on behalf of head pain/TMJ patients who want to submit requests for medical reimbursement. The first encounters with the process have been positive.

I was unaware that patients have the potential to receive significant help with payment for Botox therapy as it relates to chronic pain, like migraine, TMJ, and intractable muscular tension pain in the head and neck. WHen I read the summaries from the counselors for my own wife, I was upbeat. There is coverage that can be preauthorized.

So I am inviting patients who want treatment with chronic head, jaw, and neck pain to consult with our office. I always take the position that our patients prepare to make full payment for the therapy. But the potential for reimbursement is more of a reality today.

Stabilizing Loose Teeth

Teeth can become loose for several reasons: Traumatic injuries, severe periodontal disease, or tooth grinding. In many cases, those problems become terminal, and the loose teeth have to be removed.

We can stabilize teeth and increase their lifespan. If we can anchor loose teeth successfully, and treat the source of the loose teeth, those questionable teeth can survive longer.

One method is splinting. We can unite or bond several teeth together. We can use metal wires or non-metallic fibers to unite the teeth with adhesive dentistry.




We also make clear acrylic splints called biteguards so you can reduce the traumatic forces of grinding.



Combining splinting with treatments for bite problems or treating periodontal disease can prevent premature tooth loss.