An overbite is a common dental condition in which the upper teeth protrude over the lower teeth more than what is considered normal. Most people have a slight overbite, which is normal and healthy. A more severe overbite, however, is considered a bad bite (malocclusion) and should be evaluated by our cosmetic dentist in Erwin at Tusculum Dental. Let’s look closely today at what overbites are and how cosmetic dentistry can correct them.
There are two primary types of overbites — skeletal and dental. While skeletal malocclusions often require orthodontics or surgical intervention to correct, dental overbites can usually be addressed with nonsurgical treatments, including cosmetic dentistry.
Naturally, most people think of traditional braces or Invisalign — which our Jonesborough cosmetic dentist offers — to correct an overbite.
But mild to moderate overbites and their associated complications can also be addressed with cosmetic dentistry treatments in our office, such as:
Porcelain veneers are very thin, durable shells that adhere to the surface of teeth. They can cover minor imperfections in teeth like discoloration, chips or cracks. They can also be used to reshape teeth and disguise slightly crooked and gapped teeth. Veneers can also be used to fix worn or uneven teeth as the result of an overbite.
Dental bonding addresses many of the same issues as veneers but for less time and money. It involves our cosmetic dentist in Greeneville applying a tooth-colored resin to an affected tooth, shaping it to subtly adjust the length or alignment of the tooth and then hardening it with a special light. This can help minimize the visual impact of an overbite.
Overbites are notorious for causing excessive wear on teeth. Crowns cover and protect teeth that have been damaged, restoring their appearance and function.
Our Erwin cosmetic dentist often recommends Invisalign to correct crooked teeth and bad bites. We custom-create a series of clear trays that gradually shift the teeth into their correct position in usually about half the time it takes braces.
If you are concerned about your overbite, call Tusculum Dental Care at (423) 639-7575, or contact us online today. We would be happy to evaluate your bite and discuss your options with you.
A dental crown is a cap placed over a tooth for one of several reasons but primarily to protect a damaged or weak tooth. Crowns are most well-known for being used in root canals and to top dental implants and attach bridges.
The cost of a crown can vary based on the material used to make it, but generally, it is between $800 and $2,500 per tooth. With that kind of price tag, most of our patients understandably want to know how long they can expect their crowns to last.
Fortunately, crowns are durable and long-lasting, but their life expectancy depends on a few factors. Let’s look at those today with our family dentist in Erwin:
The duration of a crown depends on the material used to make it
A crown’s lifespan not only depends on the material it is made of but also on how well it’s cared for. Here are five of the most common factors, besides material, that impact the lifespan of a crown:
Crowns can’t get cavities; however, any exposed area of the affected tooth near the gumline can. Crowns must be cared for as if they’re natural teeth. That means brushing twice a day, flossing at least once daily and visiting our Jonesborough family dentist for regular checkups and cleanings every six months.
Also known as bruxism, teeth grinding wears down natural teeth and can do the same to a dental crown. If you grind your teeth, be sure to tell our Greeneville cosmetic dentist before you get a crown so that we can custom-make a protective nightguard for you to wear during sleep.
Crunching on ice, chewing on pens, biting nails or opening packages with teeth (using your teeth as tools) can cause damage to both natural teeth and crowns.
Hard foods like popcorn kernels and hard candies can spell disaster for a crown. Chewy foods like taffy and caramel can cause a crown to loosen from a tooth.
Where a crown is located in the mouth can impact its lifespan. The back teeth withstand more pressure because of chewing. This can shorten the life of a crown.
If you have a crown and are experiencing pain or sensitivity in the tooth it covers, if you notice any damage to your crown or if it feels loose, be sure to reach out to our dentist in Erwin as soon as you notice it.
Dental crowns are durable and can last a long time depending on what material they’re made of, where they’re located in the mouth and how well they’re cared for. If you have questions about crowns, or if you have one and you think it may need to be replaced, call Tusculum Dental Care, (423) 639-7575, or contact us online today.
When most people think of sleep apnea treatment, they envision wearing a face mask hooked to a noisy and cumbersome machine at night. A continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine is the standard way to treat sleep apnea, but a patient’s reluctance to use a CPAP can, unfortunately, prevent him or her from seeking treatment for this common and potentially dangerous sleep disorder.
But what if we told you it’s possible to treat mild to moderate cases of sleep apnea without a CPAP? Let’s look with our airway dentist in Erwin today at what sleep apnea is and the different ways it can be treated without a CPAP.
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a sleep disorder that is known to frequently interrupt a person’s breathing — and sleep pattern — at night. It’s caused when the throat muscles relax during sleep, either partially or completely blocking the airway. Sleep apnea can lead to snoring, severe daytime fatigue and, if left untreated, more severe overall health problems like high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke.
The most severe cases of OSA and people with issues like a deviated septum or enlarged tonsils may require surgical intervention, but mild to moderate cases of OSA can be treated in other, less-invasive ways.
Sometimes, simple lifestyle changes can be enough to improve mild to moderate OSA symptoms.
Our Jonesborough sleep apnea dentist custom-makes oral appliances that fit in a patient’s mouth like a nightguard. These appliances comfortably reposition the jaw and tongue to keep the airway open during sleep.
Myofunctional therapy teaches exercises to strengthen the tongue and throat muscles, which helps reduce airway collapse during sleep. For the best results, myofunctional therapy is often used in conjunction with other treatments.
If you feel you’re receiving adequate sleep but still feel extremely tired the following day — or if you’ve heard from a sleeping partner that you have a persistent, loud snore or that you stop breathing at night — call Tusculum Dental Care, (423) 639-7575, or reach out to us online today. Our Greeneville dentist works alongside sleep specialists to design a comprehensive sleep plan that will improve your sleep quality and overall health.
Are you a person who consistently struggles to fall asleep or to stay asleep at night no matter what you try? We all should be aware by now how important sleep is to our overall physical and mental health. Studies show that sleep is directly related to brain function and that insufficient sleep or poor sleep quality weakens the immune system and is linked to an increased risk of heart disease and stroke. While the impact of sleep on physical health is well-known, not as many people realize that dental health can be a major factor in the quality of sleep.
At Tusculum Dental, we want you to sleep through every night peacefully, so today our our airway dentist in Erwin is sharing a few tips to help!
All humans have a circadian rhythm, which is a natural, internal process that regulates the sleep-wake cycle. Going to bed at the same time each night and waking up at the same time each morning — even on weekends — will help reinforce your body’s internal clock, making it easier to fall asleep and wake up at the same times each day. Over time, this routine will help your sleep schedule, in turn improving your sleep quality, health and well-being.
It’s easy enough to lay in bed at the same time each night, hoping to fall asleep. But it’s often the falling asleep part that proves difficult. It’s important to relax at night and prepare your mind and body for rest. As difficult as it may be at first, our Jonesborough family dentist encourages no screentime — including TVs, phones, computers or tablets — at least an hour before bed. Instead, develop some calming nighttime habits like reading, gentle stretching, taking a warm bath or meditating.
Food right before bed has to be digested so if you eat a big meal or snack just before sleep, your body is still actively working while you’re trying to rest. Also, caffeine is a stimulant that will keep you awake at night, so avoid it before bedtime. While some people turn to a nightcap to help them fall asleep quicker, it actually impairs the body’s ability to get a deep, restful sleep.
Sleep apnea is a common sleep disorder that is recognized by frequent pauses in breathing during sleep. It happens when the airway becomes partially or completely blocked when the throat muscles relax too much, allowing soft tissues to collapse and obstruct airflow.
Symptoms of OSA include:
Left untreated, OSA can lead to serious health complications such as high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke and diabetes, so it’s very important to talk to our Greeneville airway dentist if you suspect you have the condition. We treat mild to moderate cases of sleep apnea with a custom-fitted oral appliance that keeps the airway open during sleep by repositioning the jaw or tongue slightly forward. This prevents the collapse of soft tissues that block airflow.
At Tusculum Dental Care, we know how much a good night’s sleep affects our patients’ daily lives. If you’re struggling to sleep through the night and think you could have OSA but you’d like to pursue an alternative to a CPAP machine for treatment, call us at (423) 639-7575, or reach out to us online today.
You may have heard about obstructive sleep apnea, but have you ever heard about upper airway resistance syndrome? Also referred to as UARS, upper airway resistance syndrome is another sleep breathing disorder that is less well-known than sleep apnea but still can be a major cause for concern. Your dentists treating sleep apnea in Greeneville at Tusculum Dental Care want to educate our patients on the potential dangers of UARS.
Both sleep apnea and UARS typically involve soft tissues blocking the airway. These blockages could emanate from the nasal cavity, soft palate, tongue, pharynx and/or uvula. A patient with UARS experiences breathing difficulties when the soft tissue and muscles of the upper airway relax during sleep. A person with UARS likely already had a narrowed airway, for some reason, but when the muscles and soft tissue of the upper airway relax, the airway becomes even smaller and makes it increasingly difficult for air to flow in and out of the lungs.
Although breathing never completely stops, as is often the case with patients suffering from sleep apnea, the diminished airflow still causes a decrease in oxygen levels significant enough for the brain to arouse the body enough to increase the effort of the respiratory system and resume normal breathing. If you have UARS, you may never wake consciously, but each brief state of arousal—known as a respiratory effort related arousal or RERA—is enough to interrupt the sleep cycle and the healthy and natural patterns of sleep. A RERA refers to any event where an obstruction occurs in the airway that arouses you from sleep, even though it does not meet the objective criteria for sleep apnea.
This is because RERAs usually are more shallow, and shorter, than the obstructions that occur during sleep apnea. And while snoring is a major warning sign of sleep apnea, many people with UARS do not snore, making it more difficult for a patient’s sleeping partner to recognize there may be a problem.
Because UARS is more difficult to identify, it can be misdiagnosed more frequently than other types of sleep breathing disorders. UARS may be misidentified as depression, a psychiatric disorder, Lyme disease, chronic fatigue syndrome, and even fibromyalgia. Even if many patients with UARS do not snore, there are other symptoms that can typify the disorder—including daytime fatigue, problems with focus or paying attention, frequent headaches, chronic nasal congestion, or teeth grinding.
A sleep study keeps track of your breathing and other vital signs during sleep. It identifies how often your breathing pauses during the night and counts how often these pauses occur. A patient with UARS experiences pauses that disrupt sleep, but are not significant enough to register as an attack of sleep apnea. If the results of a sleep study indicate that multiple arousals occur with no incidents of sleep apnea, then there is a strong likelihood that UARS is present.
Whether you have sleep apnea, UARS, or some other variety of sleep breathing disorder, the sleep apnea dentists in Greeneville at Tusculum Dental Care can help. Our dentists Dr. Craig Shepherd and Dr. Nathaniel Renner have the special training to deal with issues related to the airway and provide treatment so that patients get the lasting, restful sleep they have been denied for far too long. Treatment may be as simple as making lifestyle and behavior changes, but the most successful method of treating sleep-breathing disorders entails a course of oral appliance therapy. This involves prescribing the patient with a mandibular advancement device that has been custom-made to fit your mouth as securely and comfortably as possible. When worn, this device positions the lower jaw slightly forward to help maintain a clear and open airway throughout sleep.
If you think you may be suffering from UARS or some other type of sleep breathing disorder, let the dentists at Tusculum Dental Care perform an airway evaluation. Contact our office at (423) 639-7575 to schedule a consultation.
Tusculum Dental Care serves the needs of patients in Greeneville, Jonesborough, and Erwin in Tennessee.