Every Part of the Human Body is Connected

Healthy Gums keep your Heart Healthy

People often dread going to the dentist, but what they might not realize is that orthodontics is one of the most beneficial forms of preventative health care out there. Having a healthy mouth can end up saving the patient from numerous medical conditions down the line, including minimizing the chances of heart disease.

More than Just a Cleaning

The field of dentistry is filled with numerous expert fields with professionals who specialize in a specific analysis of the mouth. One of the most essential fields of dentistry is orthodontics, which is the study of jaw alignment, tooth growth, and improper biting structures. An Orthodontist specialist in Fredericksburg, going by the name of Beecroft Orthodontics can help patients at any age treatment the improper biting and jaw structure the patient may be afflicted with. Treatments like braces, retainers, and tooth headgear are the common corrective tools an orthodontist may employ to help the patient. This one field illustrates how dynamic orthodontics is beyond the routine cleanings a patient may need.

How Orthodontics Is Preventative Health

Beecroft Orthodontics, the best orthodontist in King George VA can help a patient not only have a better jaw structure, but they will also end up prolonging the quality of the patient's life. Orthodontists help to see if there are inherited tooth problems with a patient, such as if the tooth development is hindered from genetics or lifestyle choices. These clues can help the orthodontist find if the patient has a specific genetic condition that is associated with improper tooth development or if the patient's choices in life, like smoking or a bad diet, is causing their teeth to decay. Such a consultation can help the patient make better medical and health choices with their lives.

In addition, orthodontists help promote a better quality of life thanks to corrective procedures for the mouth. Often an orthodontist needs to remove extra teeth that are overcrowding the mouth or causing the patient intense pain. Corrective technology, like braces, corrects the jaw's structure, helping the patient eat food more efficiently, talk better and clearer, and help the patient live a life with minimal pain in their mouth.

General Advice

Orthodontists will also help to educate a patient about common tooth brushing mistakes and other dental health insights that a dentist may also recommend. Orthodontists use their special knowledge on tooth development to supplement the basic dental advice of proper teeth hygiene. This gives patients a fuller insight on how their dental health. For example, an orthodontist will know and tell a patient that flossing one's gums helps to keep teeth well anchored in the mouth. In addition, maintaining healthy gums through brushing and flossing reduces the amount of bacteria that can reside in the mouth. These bacteria can severely break down tooth development and the tooth enamel, weakening the tooth. In addition, such an accumulation of bacteria will end up increasing the amount of gum and tooth infections and this could spread down the throat and other body systems. It is why an orthodontist will be the first to tell a patient that healthy gums reduce the chances of heart disease since maintaining the gums will decrease any bacteria that could cross into the cardiovascular system, severely affected cardiac tissue over a lifetime.

Call an Orthodontist Today

Whether it’s for your child or for you, contacting an orthodontist to review a person's bite can highlight any medical problems along the way for the patient. Reviewing the teeth, jaw, and bite can show several different signs about the patient and the orthodontist can provide helpful consultation or treatments to aid the mouth. Don't hesitate, contact a local orthodontist today. If you live in the Fredericksburg, Stafford or King George areas, Beecroft Orthodontist is quite possibly your best choice.

Beecroft Orthodontics, 10472 Georgetown Dr. Fredericksburg, Virginia

Phone: 540-898-2200

Every Part of the Human Body is Connected

TMJ: It’s not a Disorder but a Bone

What are the most common reasons a jaw would click, pop, or hurt?

Patients say, “My jaw clicks and pops, and I wake up with severe pain in my jaw--I must have TMJ.”

And I reply, “Yes. I believe you have two of them.”

You see, it’s funny because the jaw joint is the “TMJ,” meaning “temporal mandibular joint.” It’s like saying, “I think I have ‘elbow’” or ‘knee.’” What they really mean is, “I have TMD,” which is temporomandibular disorder - a jaw joint disorder.

So, what is TMJ, what are the reasons for problems with it, and how do you fix them?

What is the jaw joint?

The jaw joint is one of the most complex in the human body--both a gliding and hinging joint. Elbows and knees are hinging joints, but your metacarpals (hands and feet) are gliding. Your jaw joint is the only joint in the body that does both--hinging when you open your mouth and gliding when you open wider. It’s probably the most used joint in the body--used for talking and eating. This causes the ligaments, the muscles and the discs, to work a lot. And, a lot can go wrong.

So going back to TMD. Let’s look at reasons for this disorder.

Reason for jaw joint problems

1. Clenching/Grinding Teeth

Stress is the most common reason for this. When clenching and grinding all day/night, the jaw muscles become overworked. Then, people wake up in the morning with a diffused soreness up and down the jaw muscles because the muscles worked overtime while they tightened their jaws and squeezed their teeth together. This can cause wear on teeth.

How to treat it:  Remove the factor causing it. Often, it’s family or work--which are hard to remove. Fortunately, exercises like yoga and meditating can help you relieve stress.

We can make a night guard, which looks like a thick retainer, giving your teeth a protective barrier. By propping your mouth open with that barrier, the muscles won’t clench, grind, and work so hard.

2. Bad Habits

If you constantly chew on a pencil, put your fingers in your mouth, or chew gum 18 hours a day, you’re overworking the jaw muscles. You feel clicking or popping when you open and close the jaw joint, because you have a disc that connects the upper base of the skull to the lower jaw. The disc is filled with fluid allowing the jaw to slide past the joint without friction. When you overuse your jaw, the disc stretches and pulls in different directions. That popping comes from the disc after it’s been pulled in the wrong direction. In severe cases, after yawning, the mouth can get stuck open or closed due to improper placement and position of the disc.

How to treat it: We manually manipulate the jaws so they open or close again.

3. Teeth aren’t in the Proper Position

If the teeth fit together properly, they protect each other. The jaw joint directs the lower jaw to fit in a certain place. But, problems occur when the jaw puts the mouth in a situation where teeth aren’t stable. If the teeth are in a bad position, it will stretch the ligaments and muscles, moving that disc out of place. Over time, you’ll experience clicking, popping, and pain.

How to treat it: A special appliance takes the teeth out of the equation. By wearing the appliance, thicker than a retainer, you allow the lower jaw to stabilize. You could see a response in a few days to a week. Others need to wear these appliances for a few weeks to a few months.

As the jaw routinely stabilizes, the muscles aren’t overstretched and overacting. At that point, we can create a long-term fix by moving the teeth to where the jaw wants to be. If the jaw wants to move over and the teeth won’t let it, we move the teeth so their positions are coincidental. This relieves the stretching and overuse of the jaw muscles and ligaments.

If you’ve experienced any of these jaw problems, consider contacting an orthodontist. At Beecroft Orthodontics you will find all the necessary help you will ever need to get rid of your jaw and all related oral problems. Contact them today.

Beecroft Orthodontics, 10472 Georgetown Dr. Fredericksburg, Virginia

Phone: 540-898-2200

TMJ: It’s not a Disorder but a Bone

How to Keep your Teeth Clean with Braces On?

What is the Best Way to Floss and Keep your Teeth Clean if you have Braces?

Let’s face it--keeping your teeth clean can be a challenge when you have braces. And, the side effects from not keeping them clean can be devastating.

Let’s look at how to keep the teeth clean when wearing braces and why it can be so difficult to do.

How to keep your teeth clean when wearing braces (and why it’s so hard)?

With braces, food tends to get stuck between the “nooks and crannies” (i.e., underneath the wire and in between the gums and brackets). And, your mouth is teeming with thousands of different types of bacteria, many of which are helpful and needed for good breath. But, you also have some bad bacteria that cause cavities and are attracted to foods like simple carbohydrates-- sugars. They break down those foods and cause cavities.

Let’s pause, and I’ll indulge you with a great tidbit for your next party: Bacteria make cavities by ingesting sugars. And, cavities are actually made by acid produced by bacteria after ingesting the sugars. So, ready for this? When you have a cavity, it’s because the bacteria used the bathroom in your mouth. Gross, huh? Like, I said-great conversation piece at your next party. But...even a better of an incentive to keep your teeth clean. So, how do you do that?

1) Brush your teeth. Typically the dentist will direct you to brush with the toothbrush at an angle, getting food that’s stuck underneath the gums. But, when you have braces, you won’t get much food out that way. So, you actually should brush from the opposite angle with your braces, since most food gets stuck in between your gums and brackets. When the food gets stuck, the bacteria collect. And, bacteria can start to form around the brackets, kicking off the cavity process. Then, you’ll have a white line around the bracket when the braces come off, because the teeth start to demineralize. Also, when food’s next to the gums, it causes the gums to inflame and swell. Inflammation can cause the bone in your teeth to recede, leaving you with gum and bone problems down the road. So, first and foremost, brush at the right angle to get all the food off your brackets.

2)Floss your teeth. Make sure you floss and keep it clean in between your teeth. To get large debris and food particles out, use a “Christmas tree” bristle brush, which is nice for going underneath the wire, getting in between the teeth, and toward the back of your mouth where sticky foods and meat get stuck. If you get right underneath the wire, you can really dislodge the food.

Of course, flossing with braces is a challenge and you can imagine why. Normally, you floss back and forth in between the teeth to dislodge food, but with braces, you can’t floss right in between the teeth due to the wire. So, you actually have to thread the piece of floss through the top of the wire and through the teeth. Certain products like Super Floss make it easy. Super Floss is a little bit thicker and sturdier so you don’t need a floss threader. You take the floss through the brackets and just pull it through. Once the floss is in that position, you’ll floss like you normally would, but you’ll have to go in between each tooth.

Overall, remember when it comes to keeping your teeth clean with braces, you must be more diligent. But if you brush and floss the right way, you’ll keep that bacteria away that causes cavities and gum disease. While it may be hard, it’s certainly worth it.

At Beecroft Orthodontics, we believe in providing the best care and guidance before, during and after your treatment so that your dream of an inspiring smile can materialize. Feel free to contact us for further details.

Beecroft Orthodontics, 10472 Georgetown Dr. Fredericksburg, Virginia

Phone: 540-898-2200

How to Keep your Teeth Clean with Braces On?