Are you based in Richmond and looking for a dentist ? Maybe you are in need of dental treatment and would like more information on what is available for your dental issue. Whatever the case may be, by visiting a dentist, they will be able to recommend the best treatments for your current dental needs.
If you decide to visit a dental practice, you can expect to be seen by a professional who will be highly experienced in providing dental treatments within areas including preventive dentistry, cosmetic dentistry, restorative dentistry and general dentistry.
If you have not visited the dental practice before however, you will be invited to have an initial appointment, where a dental professional will carry out a comprehensive oral examination on you. This comprehensive oral examination is considered to be very important for your oral health, as it is used to be able to identify if you need any dental work.
You will firstly be asked for both your medical and dental history. It is particularly important for the dentist to have your up-to-date medical history, to ensure that any treatment they propose to you is safe.
As well as having your teeth and soft tissues being thoroughly examined by the dentist, they will also carry out a periodontal health evaluation and will also assess your mouth for temporomandibular joint disorder (TMD). TMD refers to any disorder which affects the joint which connects a person’s lower jaw to their skull. This joint allows your jaw to open and close and this allows you to eat and speak.
TMJ disorders can be caused by a number of issues such as teeth grinding and/or clenching, a misaligned bite, jaw dislocation or injury. If you have TMD you may experience symptoms such as head and neck aches, tenderness of the jaw or jaw muscles and pain when chewing and biting to name a few. Stress is also considered to be a factor in TMD as stressful situations are able to aggravate TMD and cause an individual to overuse their jaw muscle which can result in the grinding and/or clenching of teeth (this is also known as bruxism)
Treating TMD
An experienced dentist should be able to identify and treat symptoms of TMD and the symptoms can be severe. By diagnosing TMD early on a patient can avoid any long-term damage to their teeth and joints.
An effective way of treating a TMJ disorder is by using custom made plastic mouth guards, which are made by taking impressions of a patient’s teeth. The mouth guards are able to take the pressure off a patient’s TMJ by protecting teeth from becoming worn down and preventing grinding. This in turn can reduce headaches and improve an individual’s quality of sleep.
What treatments can a dentist offer me under general dentistry
The term general dentistry refers to a range of dental treatments and procedures fundamental to maintaining good oral health. These treatments include routine examinations, fillings, extractions and root canal treatments.
