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Dental Health and Food: Learning to Eat Better

My intense love for candy, cakes, and everything in between started as a child. I simply couldn't go one day without something sweet to eat. But my love for all things sweet took a toll on my teeth. My dentist diagnosed me with seven cavities, each one a different size and depth. After sitting through four long dental appointments, I decided to make a change. I now monitor my diet and only eat things that benefit my oral health. I'm here to help you take better care of your teeth. My blog offers tips on how to improve your diet, maintain good oral hygiene, and many other topics. Hopefully, you can learn to overcome your bad habits just as I did. Good luck with your future dental health.

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Dental Health and Food: Learning to Eat Better

Why Grinding Your Teeth Is So Bad For You

by Eric Bailey

Do you grind your teeth? It's possible that you don't even realize that you do it since many people grind their teeth while sleep. This habit can be bad for you in several ways. By knowing why teeth grinding is so bad for you, it can motivate you to seek out professional help from your dentist to stop it.

The Pain

It does not feel very pleasant when you grind your teeth. A common side effect is that you can experience a headache after you wake up each morning. You will also experience tooth sensitivity, muscle aches, and earaches. If your teeth grinding is causing problems with pain that is hard to deal with, it can lead to bigger problems, such as anxiety or depression.

Another side effect of teeth grinding is TMJ, which not only causes pain in your muscles and joints in the jaw but will cause a clicking sound when you open or close the jaw. The clicking is not always accompanied with pain either. A TMJ problem can cause issues with how you talk, swallow, and chew your food. This is all due to how TMJ affects ligaments and muscles in the jaw that work together to perform basic functions. If you have recently noticed tenderness or pain around your jaw, you should visit a dentist to have the problem looked at.

The Damage

It's not just the pain that you have to worry about since that pain is being caused by damage to your teeth that you can't see. For some people that suffer from teeth grinding issues, they'll end up wearing down those teeth that are rubbing together.

In extreme situations, the teeth may need to be removed so that the person can wear dentures and have a full set of teeth again. In other situations, the teeth can become cracked due to the pressure that is put on them. Your dentist can catch cracks early on by taking an x-ray of your teeth.

Unfortunately, it's difficult for most people to diagnose their problem with teeth grinding because it occurs while they are sleeping. The best bet to catch it is to visit your dentist regularly since they can identify signs of teeth grinding before it becomes worse. Your dentist can help by fixing the damage caused to your teeth and finding ways to prevent teeth grinding from happening, which may include wearing a protective mouth guard at night. For more information, contact a dental professional like Michael G Landy DDS.

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