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What are they?

The joint between your upper and lower jaws, just in front of your ears, is called the temporomandibular joint (TMJ for short). A fibrous disc separates the upper and lower bone surfaces. The jaw joints can occasionally cause problems, which your dentist can help diagnose and treat.

What are your symptoms?

• Clicking and grating noises when you move your jaw.
• Difficulty opening and closing your mouth.
• Swelling or tenderness of the joint.
• Pain in the face, neck and chewing muscles (some people also have pain in shoulders and / or back).
• Headaches or migraine, especially first thing in the morning.
• Pain in your ear, possibly with ringing noises.

Clicking or grating noises are usually down to the cartilage jumping when you open your mouth.

The problem can be addressed by:

• Cutting up food into small pieces.
• Avoiding very chewy foods.
• Avoiding very hard foods.
• Trying not to open your mouth too wide – for example, when you yawn.

Jaw joint pain is usually the result of increased tension in the jaw muscles.

Factors involved in this include:

• Grinding or clenching your teeth, in your sleep or during the day.
• Habits such as biting your nails or chewing a pen.

These are often related to fatigue, stress and anxiety.

Painkillers and sedatives can relieve symptoms in the short term.

Possible solutions to the underlying problem include:

• Using relaxation and stress-relieving techniques.
• Giving up habits that aggravate the condition.
• Wearing a ‘biteguard’ at night, to stop you grinding your teeth in your sleep.

Some people may be experiencing jaw problems due to the way their teeth or dentures meet when they bite. This can be resolved by adjusting the position or shape of some teeth, by replacing missing teeth with dentures or implants, or by making a new denture, as necessary.

Speak to your local Clear Dental Practice to learn more.

Why does healthy eating matter?

Your general health and your resistance to may diseases depend a lot on eating a healthy, balanced diet.

Your eating and drinking habits also affect the health of your teeth.

Dental plaque is a soft, sticky substance that builds up on your teeth. It is mostly made up of bacteria, which feed on sugar from food and drink, producing acids as a waste product. The acids attack the teeth by dissolving the minerals in the tooth surface. If this happens too often, tooth decay results.

Acids in food and drink can dissolve away tooth surface. All fizzy drinks (including ‘diet’ brands and fizzy mineral water), all squashes and all fruit juices are acidic to varying degrees. Pickles and citrus fruits are examples of acidic types of food.

After an acid attack, teeth can repair themselves, given the opportunity. It helps if fluoride (a mineral that is an ingredient in most toothpaste) is present in the mouth.

Most dental problems can be avoided if you:

• Remove plaque by brushing twice a day with fluoride toothpaste.
• Don’t have sugary and / or acidic food and drink too often during the day. Try to have these mostly at mealtimes, not in between.
• Chew sugar-free gum, which can also help as this increases the flow of salvia which helps teeth to repair themselves.

Between meals you should only have ‘safe’ drinks, which are not sugary or acidic. Milk and water are ‘safe’ drinks. So are tea and coffee if you don’t add sugar to them (you can use non-sugar sweeteners).  

You should try and avoid snacking between meals. If you do snack, only have ‘safe’ snacks, which are not sugary or acidic. Vegetables, nuts breads/crackers and plain popcorn are all examples of ‘safe’ snacks. Dairy products, such as cheese, are also ‘safe’ snacks for teeth; for the sake of your general health, choose lower fat varieties and don’t have too much.

To stay healthy, you should be eating at least 5 portions of vegetables and fruit a day. Although fruits are healthy foods, they contain natural sugars and acids so try not to eat these too often between meals.

Remember the rules:

• Always brush your teeth twice a day with fluoride toothpaste.
• Only have ‘safe’ drinks and ‘safe’ snacks between meals.
• Eat at least five portions of vegetables and fruit every day.

Speak to your local Clear Dental Practice to learn more.

What is it?

Mouth cancer is a dangerous abnormal growth that can affect any part of the mouth.

What are the signs of mouth cancer?

Mouth cancer can appear as:

• An ulcer that fails to clear up after about three weeks.
• A growth or swelling which has been present for more than about three weeks.
• Sometimes, as a white or red patch in the mouth.

Most things like this will not turn out to be cancer, but if you have these signs, they must be investigated by going to your dentist immediately.

Am I at risk from mouth cancer?

• If you use tobacco (smoked or chewed) or chew Pan/Betel nut, you could be at risk. Drinking alcohol will also increase your risk of mouth cancer. If you do more than one, your chances of getting it are vastly increased.
• Prolonged exposure to sunlight can increase your risk of lip and skin cancer.
• The chances of getting mouth cancer are greater for people aged over 40 years, but younger people can get it too.
• You are more at risk of cancer if you don’t eat a healthy diet.

How can mouth cancer be detected?

You dentist can spot mouth cancer early. Your chances of survival are as high as 90% with early detection, compared to only 50% if it is diagnosed late. Over 7,000 people are now diagnosed with mouth cancer per year in the UK and, unlike for most cancers, the number of cases is increasing.

What will my dentist do?

You should expect your dentist to:

• Look at your face and neck.
• Feel under your jaw and down your neck.
• Examine the inside of your mouth with a small mirror, looking at your lips, cheeks, tongue, the roof of your mouth and your throat. Your dentist can see parts of your mouth that you can’t easily see or feel yourself. Your dentist may notice something in your mouth that needs to be monitored or needs to be seen by a specialist.

What are the benefits of being regularly checked?

Regular examinations mean that your dentist can spot problems early – and these include mouth cancer.

How can I prevent mouth cancer?

By following a healthy diet, with five to seven portions of fruit and vegetables each day, you can help to prevent mouth cancer as well as many other cancers and diseases (a portion is roughly a handful).

Do not use tobacco at all and reduce your alcohol consumption as much as possible, keeping your weekly intake to below 14 units, spread over at least 3 days (one unit is roughly equal to a single measure of a spirit, a half pint of beer or a small glass of wine).

Speak to your local Clear Dental Practice to learn more.

What is it?

Teeth are held in the jaws by their roots. Front teeth normally have one root, but teeth further back have more.

At the core of each tooth is a soft mass of tissue called the pulp. In a healthy tooth, the pulp contains living fibres, cells, nerves and a blood supply, extending into the root(s) through the root canal(s).

Decay or injury can destroy the living pulp. Because dead pulps lacks a blood supply, it is more prone to infection, leading to an abscess and toothache.

Root canal treatment (also known as root filling or endodontics) meaning removing damaged or dead pulp and filling the space left.

The remaining tooth can then be repaired.

What will my dentist do?

• An X-ray can show the number and shape of the root canals, and also signs of infection in the surrounding bone. Teeth can have a number of roots and some roots are easier to fill than others, because of their shape.
• To keep canals dry during treatment the dentist may stretch a sheet of thin rubber around the tooth, on a frame outside the mouth; this is called ‘rubber dam’. Having this fitted makes the treatment more comfortable.
• You will be given a local anaesthetic, and then an opening is made through the top of the tooth, down into the pulp.
• The dentist then uses narrow files to remove the dead pulp from the core of the tooth and from the root canal(s).
• At this point, the dentist may put in a temporary filling. Occasionally, infection may spread beyond the tooth and you will need to contact your dentist, who will review the situation, especially if you have a raised temperature and feel unwell. The dentist will guide you through this stage, and once symptoms have settled, the treatment will be continued.
• In the next stage, the dentist fills the root canal(s). A filling is then placed in the remaining cavity at the top of the tooth. Or, if necessary, a crown can be placed on top pf the tooth, supported by a post placed inside the filled root canal.
• If you have pain during treatment, this can be controlled using analgesics.
• Root filled teeth can become darker than other teeth, but bleaching can be used to make them look lighter.

What are the benefits?

• Pulp damage can cause toothache but the pain will usually end very quickly when the root canal is cleaned out.
• Without a root filling, a toth with a dead pulp would probably have to be taken out in the end. There is also a possibility of infection spreading beyond the tooth itself.
• Root-fillings are usually successful and can last many years, but re-treatment is also possible if infection recurs. Occasionally, if inflammation persists at the tip of the root, surgery can be carried out to remove part of the root, clean the area and put in a filling. This is known as ‘apicectomy’.
• A proportion of root canal treatments fail despite the clinician’s best efforts. In these circumstances a discussion with your dentist will indicate options for the future.

Speak to your local Clear Dental Practice to learn more.