Do you ever wonder why dentists have DDS or DMD behind their names? DDS stands for Doctor of Dental Surgery while DMD stands for Doctor of Medical Dentistry, both practice virtually the same. In France, I have a cousin that does dental procedures like wisdom tooth removal, but he is called a Stomatologist. He first received his physician’s degree and... read more »
Pain in the head and neck is often called craniofacial pain or a little more limited description might be orofacial pain. I am a general dentist so I deal with a lot of tooth or odontogenic pain. I also enjoy treating non-odontogenic pain of the head and neck. I enjoy the hunt for the cause of the pain and the... read more »
In my last article I touted the potential problems with the tongue and the aggravation it causes with Sleep Apnea. Another oral structure that brings about complicating or aggravating factors to worsen one’s apnea is the palate. I mean the hard bony palate or roof of our mouth and the soft or tissue palate extending behind the hard palate. When... read more »
And you thought we dentists just looked at teeth. Tongues can push teeth crooked. They can beat up the dentist trying to do a filling on a lower tooth. Tongues seem to have eyes of their own and go right to where the dentist is drilling or filling a tooth. Both the dentist and the dental assistant come away exhausted... read more »
TMJ stands for temporomandibular joint. TMD stands for temporomandibular dysfunction. When someone has pain in their “jaw joint” they say they have “TMJ.” That’s like saying I have knee when you have pain in your knee joint. The more meaningful description is to say I have TMD or I have pain in my jaw joint or pain in my facial... read more »
C-PAP stands for constant positive air pressure. C-PAP devices deliver room air not oxygen to the patient at varying pressures. The maximum pressure level is set depending on the apnea of the patient Positive air pressure of a sufficient amount can keep a person’s airways open so that there is no obstruction to breathing. This pressure is delivered to a... read more »
I often have many TMJ patients come to me with a history of hearing a loud pop followed by pain in their jaw joints and an inability to open very wide. Usually they have a lot of pain when they try to open very wide for the first few days or weeks. The clinical description for the diagnosis for such... read more »
What does genetics have to do with Sleep Apnea? Obstructive Sleep Apnea is a condition in both male and female populations. It is a medical condition experienced while sleeping where a person’s airway becomes blocked or obstructed by the tissues in their throat and they cannot breathe for periods of time lasting for at least 10 seconds. Note that the... read more »
Sleep Apnea is a sleep disorder occurring at night when a person does not breath for a minimum of 10 seconds or longer. The time can often be for periods of 30 to 60 seconds. Sometimes a person will be obstructed and their body will try so hard to breath that they gasp for air. You ask the average person... read more »
It’s often said that in people’s latter years, they become more like children in many ways. Forgetfulness often affects personal hygiene habits. Loss of physical dexterity can also effect oral hygiene. Just as a child doesn’t brush their teeth very well, or forgets to brush their teeth before going to bed, so it seems that many Seniors begin to follow... read more »