Besides cosmetic problems and crooked teeth, there’s a lot more our talented team can help you with at our practice. For instance, if you have any ongoing issues with your jaw, our team can help diagnose the problem and get you on the way to a healthier and  happier smile.

Here’s how your dentist in Banbury can help you solve your problem.

What are the signs?

As a quick aside, before you go off and book an appointment with our dentist in Banbury, here’s a few of the warning signs to keep an eye out for that might signal a visit to our practice.

One of the most common giveaways of an underlying jaw problem is if teeth start to become mis-aligned or flattened out. Because of the uneven amount of force being put on your teeth, they will start to wear away at odd angles, or slowly change position as you clench your jaw throughout the day.

You may also start to experience problems in the tempero-mandibular-joint, or TMJ as it’s more commonly known. The symptoms you may experience can range from a popping or clicking noise whilst eating, talking or through general movement of your jaw. The cause of these issues tends to be brought on through either overdevelopment of the mandibular muscle through excessive clenching or from direct trauma to the area.

Another sign is if there’s any pain whilst eating or talking, or if a general ache is felt in your jaw even if it’s not moving.

The next step

If you’re showing any of these symptoms, then don’t worry as there are things we can do to help. Your first step should be to contact us. At Amsel and Wilkins, our team will provide the highest level of professional care and courtesy as we help you heal.

Generally, when we get you in, an examination of the area will occur, with our team checking the area for swelling, breaks and how easy it is for you to move your jaw. After a diagnosis, if it can be treated in the practice, we will usually schedule you for a future treatment or provide home remedy recommendations. However, if it’s a more complex issue, then we would refer you to the appropriate health department for scanning and further treatment.

Options for treatment

If it’s nothing too serious, there are options for treatment in the practice. Normally we would recommend a series of relaxation treatments, with the intent of lowering your stress levels and reducing clenching, which can exacerbate jaw related issues.

This can be anything from recommendations for massages, yoga, aromatherapy, meditation or mindfulness techniques that help lower stress.

For more practical solutions we may also advise corrective surgical procedures or replacing teeth with implanted prosthetics, in order to even out your bite. We could also provide a protective mouth guard for you to wear at night, to shield your teeth against the grinding and clenching you do subconsciously throughout the night.

So, as you can see there’s a lot more we can offer you besides a clean and cosmetic treatments. If you’re experiencing any of the issues we’ve highlighted, or just want to get yourself checked out, then book an appointment at our practice today.

When it comes to helping you look after your teeth, we have a range of treatments we can use to help you out. A procedure you may be interested in is dental implants.

What are dental implants?

If you have never heard of this type of procedure, then here’s a brief summary to get you up to speed before you visit your dentist in Banbury.

This treatment would normally be recommended to help with cracked and damaged teeth, or to replace a crooked tooth that can’t be realigned with other treatments. The process involves the insertion of a prosthetic tooth beneath your gum line and directly into your jawbone. The tooth is attached via a sterile Titanium screw and the prosthetic itself is normally made out of porcelain or ceramics, to allow us to correctly shade it and blend it in with the surrounding teeth.

What does the treatment involve?

The treatment process itself is pretty straightforward and shouldn’t take too long for our team to perform. The first step will normally involve a consultation meeting, then an inspection and cleaning of the area will occur, followed by a casting and shade matching to create a realistic implant.

The next stage is the insertion of the implant through minor surgery involving local anaesthetic. There also tends to be two main types of techniques for fitting, there’s the Endosteal and Subperiosteal. The first is fitted below the gum line and into your bone as we described, whilst the second is placed below your gums but above the bone. This tends to be used if there’s not enough healthy bone to fit the implant into.

When you come into the practice, our team at Amsel and Wilkins will provide you with a swift and professional service that will get you on the road to that shining smile.

What are the benefits of dental implants?

There are a couple of positives to this treatment worth considering, for example the main benefit is that it provides a natural looking, straight and sturdy addition to your smile.

Another positive to this treatment that your dentist in Banbury might mention is that it is easy to maintain; you just have to brush it like you would any other tooth. However, try to not press too hard as you can dislodge the implant during the healing stage, the same goes for flossing, try to avoid pulling too deep.

Are there risks to be aware of?

The main thing to be aware of is infection; the healing stage of the implant process is vital and if your gums become infected and inflamed in a condition known as peri implant mucositis, then you run the risk of disintegrating the surrounding bone or worse.

Generally, we recommend a strict and regular oral health routine to keep out any bacteria from your gums as they heal.

So, as we’ve shown, there are plenty of good reasons to consider having dental implants. They’re easy to maintain, the procedure is quick and most important of all, it gives you that natural looking smile that you deserve.