I have had a lot of trouble with certain teeth #16, #15, #14. I have had two teeth pulled trying to find the problem. I have been to many dentist and specialist to no avail. I am wearing a soft mouth guard at night and woke up this morning with #14 really sore. It seems that the soft mouth guard is making things worse. What type of dentist should I be going to?
1. You got it right. When you grind heavily, a soft mouthguard DOES NOT help, because the force is still getting transmitted through it.
2. You HAVE TO spend the few hundred dollars and get a custom made HARD Occlusal Guard.
3. You have to first go to your own / general dentist.
4. Get a referral to see a TMJ / TMD specialist. That can be either an Oral Surgeon or a specialist in Oral Medicine, It depends on what special branch they specialize in.
5. The reason you need the referral is that your insurance will most likely cover the cost if you go through your primary dentist and document the need.
I have done that for many of my patients.
Written: Jan 22, 2009
January 22nd, 2009 at 2:19 pm
You may need a hard occlusal guard. Sometimes soft ones will actually stimulate grinding.
What kind of specialist have you seen? Have you told the dentists that you've seen others? Do you take your occlusal guard with you to show them what's going on?
References :
January 22nd, 2009 at 2:39 pm
1. You got it right. When you grind heavily, a soft mouthguard DOES NOT help, because the force is still getting transmitted through it.
2. You HAVE TO spend the few hundred dollars and get a custom made HARD Occlusal Guard.
3. You have to first go to your own / general dentist.
4. Get a referral to see a TMJ / TMD specialist. That can be either an Oral Surgeon or a specialist in Oral Medicine, It depends on what special branch they specialize in.
5. The reason you need the referral is that your insurance will most likely cover the cost if you go through your primary dentist and document the need.
I have done that for many of my patients.
References :
DMD