TMD and TMJ

TMD and TMJ

Temporomandibular joints, also known as TMJ, provide a connection between the skull and the lower jaw. Most people don’t realize it exists until they start experiencing ear pain or headaches.

Here at Bishop & Bishop Dental, we see many patients who complain of unexplained pain in their jaw and determine they have TMD and TMJ. Dr. David Bishop offers treatment options to help reduce the pain and discomfort of this condition.

 

Treatments for TMD and TMJ include the following options:

 

1. Muscle relaxants and medications

2. Mouth guards

3. TMJ surgery

 

We offer mouth guards as the first option aside from pain relief medications, because many of our patients experience less pain when waking up from grinding their teeth at night. This helps them get through the day much more comfortably. TMD and TMJ surgery is typically only needed in more severe cases or when other treatments don’t work.

 

Visit our clinic in Silver Spring, MD to discuss the different options we offer for TMD and TMJ.

 

Benefits of Electric Toothbrushes

Benefits of Electric Toothbrushes

Here at Bishop & Bishop Dental, we want to help our patients prevent oral health problems as much as possible so they don’t deal with extensive procedures later on. Dr. David Bishop encourages the use of power toothbrushes, showing the many benefits of electric toothbrushes in terms of dental hygiene and periodontal health our patients can achieve. While brushing manually with a traditional toothbrush twice a day get the teeth and gums clean, electric toothbrushes go even further and have other advantages as well.

 

Our patients benefit in a number of ways by using electric toothbrushes, including:

• Getting cleaner teeth
• Not brushing too hard
• Brushing their teeth for the recommended time
• Brushing thoroughly with dexterity problems
• Being more environmentally friendly

Electric toothbrushes are easy to use and come with multiple attachments for every family member. To use it properly, angle it at a 45-degree angle and place it on the tooth where the gum line is. The bristled gently turn and vibrate, cleaning more plaque in the same amount of time. Many electric toothbrushes contain a timer that lets you know how long you should brush your teeth. By using an electric toothbrush, our patients come to our office less frequently with dental problems.

Contact us at 301-608-9270 for any questions or concerns about the benefits of electric toothbrushes.

Snoring & Snoring Devices

Snoring & Snoring Devices

Bishop & Bishop Dental provides dental care for all types of oral health issues, including snoring and snoring devices. We offer a variety of oral appliances and devices that help our patients stop snoring whether it is related to sleep apnea or due to the tissues in their throat.

 

These devices are custom made to be comfortable and secure while patients sleep, reducing snoring and helping them get better sleep. Dr. David Bishop also provides oral appliances specifically for patients struggling with sleep apnea, which is a common cause of snoring.

 

Snoring and snoring devices available here in our dental practice help position the jaw and tongue while sleeping, increase the tongue’s muscle tone so it is more relaxed during sleep, and stabilize the tongue and jaw.

 

Tongue retaining appliances, CPAP machines for sleep apnea, and mandibular repositioning appliances that keep the lower jaw in a protruded position are just a few of the various appliances available to help with snoring.

 

Please call us at 301-608-9270 to learn more about snoring and snoring devices we provide and how they can help you stop snoring at night.

When to Replace Your Complete Dentures

When to Replace Your Complete Dentures

Complete dentures are a set of dentures that are made following the removal of all the patient’s teeth. Dentures are usually placed in the mouth 8-12 weeks after the teeth are removed, as this is when the gum tissue has healed enough. Dr. David Bishop begins preparing these dentures once the gum tissue is healing properly. Once complete, the patient has a brand new set of dentures that let them eat the foods they want with teeth that require only minimal care.

 

For patients who want to have a temporary solution before their final dentures are ready, we provide a temporary set of dentures here at Bishop & Bishop dental. They are not as secure while talking and eating as the complete dentures, but are great for this in between period.

 

Once patients have their complete dentures, they are advised to re-visit Bishop & Bishop Dental to look at the dentures and determine if and when they need to be replaced. While complete dentures are stable and can last a long time, we do recommend replacing them ideally about every five years on average.

 

If you are ready to get fitted for complete dentures, visit our practice in Silver Spring, MD.

Endodontics / Root Canals

Endodontics / Root Canals

Tooth infections can occur at any time, even with patients who take excellent care of their teeth. Many infections get deep into the nerves of the tooth’s root, which causes severe pain and great sensitivity to hot and cold temperatures. If you can’t eat ice cream or drink hot coffee without feeling intense pain, you could be suffering from an infection of the root of your tooth. In this case, a root canal performed in our Silver Springs, MD practice is necessary.

Here at Bishop Dental, we provide root canal procedures to help get rid of the infection. The process begins with Dr. David Bishop numbing the area with a local anesthetic, then drilling a small hole into the tooth to reach the canal. This lets us clean out the infection, before filling the hole with a material called gutta percha. This material is temporary, so you will need to return to our office in about 2-3 weeks to be fitted for a crown.

After having a root canal done, the tooth is dead. While it helps save the structure of the tooth, a crown needs to be fitted to protect it from cracking or breaking.

Contact our office today to learn more about all of our endodontic procedures available.

Implants / Mini Implants

Implants / Mini Implants

If you are missing teeth, you might be experiencing difficulty eating your favorite foods, not to mention the fact that it isn’t aesthetically pleasing. While it can be a pain to have missing teeth, there is a permanent solution in the form of implants. Here at Bishop Dental in Silver Spring, MD we provide regular implants and mini implants. Each implant provides a permanent restoration to replace one or multiple missing teeth.

Our dentist, David Bishop, provides traditional and mini implants. Traditional implants involve placing a titanium post deep into the jaw bone of the missing tooth. Once it has healed, a crown is placed over the post, allowing you to chew as you normally would. The crown is custom-made to fit your smile, so it looks and feels natural. It will be the same basic color, size, and shape of the surrounding teeth.

Mini dental implants are done in a similar way, though they take less time. The post used in mini implants is about half the size and doesn’t go in as far into the bone, so it heals much more quickly. This is done in a single step, as opposed to months. Once the post is in, the crown is placed over it right here in our office.

Either direction you go, your implants provide a permanent answer to your missing teeth problem, but should also be cared far like your other teeth. Always brush and floss the implant twice a day.

 

Veneers

Veneers

At Bishop Dental in Silver Springs, MD, we provide many treatments for helping to correct patient’s smiles, including veneers. Veneers, made of porcelain or laminates, are extremely thin and cover the front of the teeth. Patients often come to our office looking to correct the visual appearance of their teeth, like discoloration or chipped teeth. Veneers are made custom in our office to match your natural teeth.

We start the veneer process by preparing the tooth to be covered, which includes removing a small amount of the enamel to make room for the veneer. We may also reshape the tooth before making an impression of it. After that is complete, the veneer is made in a lab, which takes about 1-2 weeks. Once it is ready, we bond it to your tooth with permanent cement.

There are a variety of reasons you might need dental veneers, including the following:

1) Discoloration – Your tooth may be discolored from smoking, drinking dark liquids or following a root canal without a crown placed.

2) Chips or Cracks – Teeth that are chipped or cracked can also be covered with a veneer.

3) Gaps or Spaces – If your teeth have gaps and you don’t want braces, you can get veneers to cover the gaps.

If you think veneers might be the right solution for you, give us a call at 301- 608-9270.