August Monthly News
National Smile Month
of today's college students have in common?
Trench mouth
It got its name from World War I soldiers
who did not have a well-balanced diet or toothbrushes
while they were in the trenches.
Some of today's college students are experiencing trench mouth.
Trench mouth can be traced to a combination of problems;
poor diet, lack of sleep and poor oral hygiene that allow plaque
and tartar build-up on the gums.
This presents a perfect breeding ground for a specific type
of bacteria - Spirochetes that is linked to trench mouth.
This bacteria can cause infection.
Tender, swollen and bleeding gums are early warning signs of gum disease.
Trench mouth is basically a result of inflamed and infected gums,
especially between teeth.
This rapid destruction of gum tissue may be permanent.
The defects created in the gums often require simple gum surgery.
To prevent some cases of trench mouth, all it takes is sensible living,
a good diet, sufficient sleep and proper oral hygiene to maintain healthy
teeth and gums. Understanding the problem is key to correcting it.
For more severe cases, the patient may need extensive dental treatment,
starting with a visit to the dentist. A first visit might include a rinse
with hydrogen peroxide and a tooth cleaning to remove debris
from the gumline. The patient may need antibiotics to clear up the bacterial
infection along with repeated tooth cleanings.
The final steep would be full-scale cleaning to control gum damage.
 Quadriplegics rely on their mouths to perform nearly every task. Using a "mouthstick," (a stick-like, rubber-ended implement), these persons operate calculators, typewriters, computers, push elevator buttons and turn pages. They also maneuver their wheelchairs using an apparatus that responds to the sipping and puffing action of their mouth. All of these actions would be very difficult without teeth, if a severely disabled person were to lose the use of his teeth, then he would be at an even further disadvantage; he would also be dentally disabled. |
Sleeping on your side or stomach can wear on your teeth.
A study of 2,000 tooth grinders found that morning jaw pain was located
on the sleeping side for 95 percent of the patients.
Dental patients who most often show symptoms of tooth
who alternate from side to side.
The less common belly position can cause even more grinding damage.
Belly sleepers tend to have a greater amount of neck pain
and stiffness as well, the study found.
Side and belly sleepers should try and sleep on their back,
with neck and knee support, because this is the least "tooth stressful"
sleeping posture. The patient who cannot tolerate the back sleeping
posture is encouraged to adopt an improved side posture
- a contoured pillow under the face with a second pillow
placed to support the arm and shoulder.
While involuntary tooth grinding during sleep can be triggered
by emotional stress, it also can be triggered by the inability
to find a comfortable sleeping position.
"Bruxers" may not realize that they're grinding their teeth.
The pressure on their jaw from sleeping on their side or belly causes
continued wear on the tooth surface each time they swallow.
If symptoms persist, acrylic night guards or dental therapy may be required.
If left untreated, the syndrome can lead to serious jaw and joint problems.
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