- Oct 9, 2022
Q: I’ve had a bit of dentistry in my seventy-plus years. I know enough about going to the dentist and getting things done to almost be conversational in ‘dental-ese’.
Because of my work, I’m always “on call”. I think about the business all the time. When you own a business, it never leaves you. There are always challenges to overcome and problems to solve – it’s life!
I broke some more teeth three weeks ago right in front. Because I sport a moustache and have a long lip, my teeth don’t show, but I think I sound a bit different and I’m in front of people all day. I have a grade-two bite or something like that and I know I clench and grind my teeth.
My dentist doesn’t see me much because I’m busy and I put things off. I saw him about this problem (the broken front teeth) and he said, “You’ve broken the bridge off at the gum line and you’ve got decay and abscesses in many parts of your mouth. You need to see several specialists.”
I was shocked because I didn’t have abscess pain and I didn’t feel any cavities. But I was a bit confused because he said it was a job he felt he couldn’t fully address. He said I had nerve abscesses and gum abscesses and it had been going on for a long time to cause such bone destruction. He said there’s a lot of disease in my mouth and I’d feel better once it was all fixed. The last five years I’ve been getting headaches and migraines but not toothaches. Is he talking about my headaches?
He said I need my bite reworked and I needed to see someone who was doing that kind of work like a bridge specialist because my new work would need surgery, healing, implants, and a brand new bridge. He noted some major problems in my back teeth, especially upper, and on the lower front teeth that had gum abscesses. As you can imagine, I walked out dazed. Where do I start?
A: First let me confirm that one’s overall health can be dramatically affected by disease in the mouth, even when you don’t have symptoms. Flu-like symptoms are often reported with severe dental disease.
Your bite can bring on dramatic effects, manifesting as headaches and migraines. This can exacerbate as the bite deteriorates because your jaw joint muscles are affected and head and neck muscles are recruited to sustain or mitigate overworked masticatory (chewing, speaking, etc.) muscles.
Your disease requires your urgent attention. The disease must be eliminated and your bite addressed. This could be a year to year and a half process but stick to it. I have seen dramatic changes and relief when badly broken down mouths are brought back into pristicne conditions.
Almost certainly your headaches will disappear as proper bite mechanics are put in place and the disease is addressed.
Don’t delay, help is available.
If we can help, we’d like to. Call 778-410-2080 for a consultation or visit us today.
Based on actual patient cases
© Calvin Ross Crapo
Victoria Implant Centre 778-410-2080