Bruxism, gum disease treatment dileama

colossus-x

The state of my teeth has deteriorated quite rapidly over the last year and especially the last couple of months. Namely I have pretty bad Bruxism. I have worn down my back teeth quite severely and have difficulty chewing harder foods like meat etc... . I have noticed now that my front teeth are affected as well. I also have receding gums and beginning to see gaps between some of my front teeth.

The Bruxism was brought on by I feel by the stress I have endured over the last three years. I was a mature student (now 40) studying Science and I found the course very difficult but I did pass by the skin of my teeth ! I was a non smoker after giving them up for a few years but when I finished college I went back on them although I have now given them up again. I still haven't found a job since leaving college so basically I'm skint so I won't have any significant amount of money until I get work and then spend some time saving.

I am going to get a scale and polish in a few days time. On the medical card that will cost me 30e. I'm dreading the diagnosis the dentist will give me after the check up. From what I have read online my teeth would require 'tooth bonding' for the worn-away teeth, gum grafting for the gum recession and a shield to be worn at night for the bruxism - as well as more rigorous personal dental hygiene routine.

Obviously this kind of work would cause a fortune. I have no money for any of this at this point in time and not likely to for at least a couple of years. What worries me more is that my teeth will be in a much worse condition by the time I have saved for the treatment. In the meantime I have bought a Oral b dental guard , stopped smoking and started flossing and eating much better too. I have also cut down on my caffeine intake which was quite high and am happy to drink decaf tea and coffee.

I am only 40 and am kicking myself for neglecting my teeth so badly but was mainly due the workload I wasn't able to cope with at college over the last few years.

Does anyone have any advice or suggestions of what I can do. I am quite distressed by the situation which won't help me to sleep any better at nigh which will probably make my Bruxism worse. I'm really worried that by the time I have funding my teeth will be worn away so much nothing can be done with them. It would be impossible for me to get a loan given my current unemployed status. Would going abroad to Europe be something I should consider doing as soon as I can and if so where? I would be very concerned about doing that also as the kind of work I need would require a very skilled Dentist to do it properly. Is there any chance of getting this kind of work done in a student hospital at a reduced cost?

Any advice greatly appreciated

ballsymchugh

to get that treated correctly would need a fair few appointments, so going abroad wouldn't be economically sensible.
i'll leave the bruxism to fitz, but about the gum recession...
does the appearance really bother you or are you suffering some bad sensitivity?
grafting of gum tissue should only be done by a specialist, and only on a patient that has been completely free of gum disease for a long while.

btkm8unsl0w5r4

There are a number of things that cause tooth wear and your dentists should see if its grinding or some erosive process (stomach acid etc.) as these are treated differently. Once the cause of the wear is know and treated you can do two things.

1. Protect and maintain what you have got with an ablative splint. (These are not suitable for erosive cases.). A good hard splint will cost about 400 euro and is well worth the effort and could save you tens of thousands long run.
2. Restore the damage with as you say bonding, crowns, inlays etc.

My advice is to find out the cause of the damage, treat the case, protect the teeth and think about restoration later. Does stress cause grinding, no but it can make established grinding it worse, stress does however have a link to stomach problems as does smoking. Unfortunately treatment of these problems has only limited coverage on the medical card.

colossus-x

@ballsymchugh: yes the appearance bothers me a lot. The sensitivity of it goes quite quickly if I floss and take corsodyl.

@fitzgeme, just over a year ago just before my exams in December I had bad pain in my lower jaws bones which led me to believe I was grinding my teeth. It was especially bad in the mornings. I wore the oral b gum guard and that seamed to relive the problem. Unfortunately I neglected to continue to wear the guard after a few months. Obviously the problem had not gone away although I haven't had any jaw pain since. I wasn't smoking at that time - I had been off them for a number of years at that stage. Other than smoking I actually eat very well as a rule and never had any problems with stomach acid so I'm pretty certain that grinding teeth in my sleep is the cause.

Is there any reason not to continue wearing the oral b guard until I raise the 400 or should I try and source it asap somehow?

btkm8unsl0w5r4

Don't really know what the oral b guards is, if it is some sort of DiY soft boil in the bag thing then I would not wear it long term as it will increase the clenching problem. Best thing is to go for a proper consultation with a dentist that can give you the time to go through all the issues you have and take a detailed look. This is the first thing to do. Worry about the other things once you know what to worry about.

Nanazolie

I have similar issues, clenching teeth have left most of my teeth either chipped or cracked, with extended gum recession.
I had a gum graft 15 years ago, I think it saved 2 of my front teeth, but I am not sure how long it will last for. The gum is receeding again in this spot so it looks like the teeth will inevitably go.

I had a bite guard fitted by my dentist a few months ago, it helped with some of the issues I had, still waiting for the other ones to settle though. At least, I know I won't cause any more damage, so I can now focuse on restoring the ones that have cracked. I agree with Fitzgeme, protect the ones that are still ok, and contact your dentist for a dental assessment and may be a referral to the dental hospital in Dublin

colossus-x

Nanazolie wrote: »

I have similar issues, clenching teeth have left most of my teeth either chipped or cracked, with extended gum recession.
I had a gum graft 15 years ago, I think it saved 2 of my front teeth, but I am not sure how long it will last for. The gum is receeding again in this spot so it looks like the teeth will inevitably go.

I had a bite guard fitted by my dentist a few months ago, it helped with some of the issues I had, still waiting for the other ones to settle though. At least, I know I won't cause any more damage, so I can now focuse on restoring the ones that have cracked. I agree with Fitzgeme, protect the ones that are still ok, and contact your dentist for a dental assessment and may be a referral to the dental hospital in Dublin

Advice taken. Any idea how much the initial consultation at the Dental Hospital would be? I would like to a recommendation from them as well in addition to what my regular dentist (chain of clinics) will say to me tomorrow after my scale and polish. No sure how good chain clinics are in general.

btkm8unsl0w5r4

A Chain clinic is not your dentist, the dentist is the person doing the work not the company that pays them. Your treatment and advice will only be as good as the dentist you see. Make sure you see the same dentist time after time, and over the years. You need somebody that knows your teeth and how thing are progressing. Continuity of care is not a traditional strong point for chain of dental clinics. No names of clinics please as per charter.