Posts Tagged ‘Medication’

Having  just returned from a Seminar relating the way a person bites and level of comfort they will have in their head and shoulders.  Stress Headaches are very common and many times this relates to the level of stress the person has, the occlusion (bite), and the level in which a person handles their stress.  Headaches are very complex in both their origin and the way they effect the individual.   The use of spraying muscles and using pressure points can reduce headaches if they are muscular in nature.  Jaw pain can also be referred in nature. For example, pain in the side of the face can be generated  from a problem or knot in the muscle in the shoulder area.   If you suffer from headaches or your teeth don’t fit together like they used to give us a call at (586)247-3500 or visit us at www.thegentledentist.com.  Our gentle dental office is located in Shelby township, macomb Michigan. 

The use of medications to relax the muscles are helpful for a short period of time up to 6 weeks. This, in addition to a bite guard to protect the teeth are very effective to resolve muscle pain.  For those patients who wake themselves up at night may benefit from medications that used in high doses are anti depressants.  Elavil is an example of a short term medication that is used to help patients get to a deeper level of sleep in a low dosage.  This is also used in low dosages for up to 6 weeks to help break the cycle of pain from TMD (Tempro-mandibular dysfunction).

There are many oral conditions and complications that take place when patients are using many drugs.

A good website to use to research out medications is www.drugstore.com. They have a section where you can check out common side effects of medication you or someone you know may be on.  It also has a section that will list drug interactions if you are on multiple medications. 

As I have discussed in the past, the most common side effect of medications is a drying of the mouth. The biggest mistake I see patients who have a dry mouth is to suck on mints, candies, chocolates, or sodas sweetened with natural sugar. When sucking on the candies, they coat the teeth with sugar which in turn develops into a full blown case of dental decay.  Patients are shocked when I show them the destruction that these cause.  Sugar-free AquaDrops candies are a great way to stimulate saliva while not creating multiple cavities in the mouth.  You can find these in just about any pharmacy.

A good toothpaste that will help the balance in the mouth is Crest Pro-health or Biotene toothpaste.  They contains anti-fungal and anti-bacterial agents in this specially formulated toothpaste.  For dry mouth it was recommended to use Biotene oral balance gel.  This is also available over the counter.  When using this gel first swish with water, then use a small glob and move it around to lubricate the mouth.  It has been reported to cool a dry mouth and make it feel much better.