Oral Health: Don't Ignore Your GumsOral Health: Don't Ignore Your Gums

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Oral Health: Don't Ignore Your Gums

When you go to your dentist, you are likely concerned about cavities and the stains on your teeth. If you are like me, then you probably never thought much about your gums. Unfortunately, this caused me to form a serious gum recession condition. My dentist said that hard brushing practices, poor flossing techniques, and even the consumption of sugary foods led to the recession. After some deep scaling treatments, I was informed that I needed a gum graft procedure. The gums are extremely important to your health. They provide your teeth with the nutrients they need and they protect the sensitive dental roots. The gums even keep bacteria away from your jaw bone. Don't ignore your gums like I did. Read my blog and learn about proper oral care techniques. Prevention practices can easily save your gums from necessary restoration.

Having Bad Jaw Pain? What To Know

29 February 2016
 Categories: Dentist, Blog

If you have a lot of pain around the back of your mouth and in the jaw, you want to get to your dentist right away to make sure there aren't serious concerns. There are a lot of oral health conditions that can cause pain in the back of the mouth and that may need immediate treatment. Here are a few potential conditions you could be dealing with.

TMJ

Temporal mandibular disorder is when the jaws aren't aligned properly, and it can cause pain in the joint and around the joint. It can also cause pain because some people with TMJ grind their teeth. The dentist may notice if you have this problem, but this could be an issue that needs to be diagnosed and treated by an orthodontist. Sometimes braces or a mouth guard are the treatment for this condition.

Wisdom Teeth

If your wisdom teeth are pushing in the back of the mouth, and they are pushing on the bones or other teeth in the mouth, it can cause a lot of pain. Your wisdom teeth should be detected on an x-ray at your regular dentist's office. If they are a problem, you need to contact an oral surgeon to have them taken out right away before they do damage in the mouth. If your wisdom teeth are in danger of cracking the jaw bones they could need extracted immediately.

Grinding

Teeth grinding isn't always caused by TMJ or an oral health concern, but instead you could be grinding your teeth because of other factors in your life. People who are dealing with a lot of stress and anxiety sometimes grind their teeth, or those that have sleep apnea also frequently grind their teeth. If you are grinding, you want to get a protective piece made for the mouth so you don't damage the teeth and to reduce friction when you grind. The dentist should be able to suspect grinding because of worn enamel.

Your first stop should be the dentist when you're dealing with pain in the back of your mouth. After the dentist you may have to see a specialist like an oral surgeon, or an orthodontist. The sooner you find out what is going on the sooner you can treat the pain and start healing your mouth. If the dentist doesn't have an explanation for the pain you may want to see your regular physician to investigate the problem even further. 

Contact places like Family Medical Dental Center to set up an appointment.