Over the years, protecting your smile can take additional effort due to certain conditions that can develop. By maintaining a healthy relationship with your dentist, you can often identify active threats and receive treatment before they get out of hand. While cleanings and exams help prevent cavities and gum disease from plaque and tartar deposits, sometimes more complex oral disorders can occur. A gum infection can destabilize teeth and lead to significant dental loss for example. But what can you do to identify conditions that take hold while you are asleep? If you wake in the morning with a consistent ache through your jaw, head, and shoulder muscles, you may suffer from a condition known as temporomandibular joint disorder or TMD. Without treatment, TMD can lead to difficulty properly articulating your jaw open and shut. This problem is associated with a bad bite, leading to accelerated wear and tear on your teeth’s surfaces and an increased risk for decay and infection. After helping get your TMD under control, we could help you explore functional and cosmetic treatments to restore your smile’s appearance.

At Sunny Smiles Family Dentistry, we provide a nonsurgical treatment for TMD through the use of oral appliance therapy. By taking custom measurements of your teeth and surrounding oral structures, we create a mouthguard that fits neatly on each row of teeth. By wearing your guard before bed, you gently slide your jaw into a more comfortable position, relieving tension on the joints of your jaw. Because your teeth are covered, this treatment also stops any grinding damage associated with your disorder.

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As we age, protecting our smile from wear and tear becomes more and more important. What steps can you take to preserve as much healthy material as possible? By brushing and flossing your teeth each day, you prevent the accumulation of harmful dental plaque that occurs from the combination of oral bacteria and food debris. When you attend regular checkups and exams, we help remove deposits you cannot remove on your own. This also helps protect your smile from the ravaging effects of gum disease, the number one cause of tooth loss among adults. But what if a certain threat strikes while you are sleeping? If you wake each morning with pain in muscles near your jaw, you may have a condition known as TMD or temporomandibular joint disorder. With no treatment, TMD makes opening and closing your jaw rather difficult. You may experience excruciating pain as well. Because TMD is associated with bruxism, or constant grinding of the teeth, treating your condition can help preserve your smile. Fortunately, we can provide a non-surgical intervention with the creation of a custom oral mouthguard.

At Sunny Smiles Family Dentistry, we know that successful treatment for TMJ disorder can greatly improve your quality of life. When are more fully able to articulate your jaw’s range of motion, you wake feeling more refreshed. Wearing a custom mouthguard at night can free you up to more easily enjoy meals and speak as well.

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