Dr. Sherry K. Marvel, DDS,PA

A lot of people have what we call sleep bruxism. People can have pain and cause damage with as little as grinding “sleep chewing” for 8 minutes a night. Seeing a dentist that is a TMD specialist is ones best option with jaw pain. This could be from a variety of causes so one would need to be evaluated by a specialist. A TMD specialist will typically have their practices limited to treating this disorder and have equipment for evaluation that your general dentist who “treats TMJ/TMD will not have available. Good luck!

Yes, it is okay to use mouthwash with a temporary crown as long as the mouthwash is alcohol free. Good luck with your new crown. Hope it looks and feels great!

Yes, sinus infections can absolutely cause tooth pain. The best course of action is to see your dentist asap to determine if this is dental or sinus related pain. If you are able to take Ibuprofen, the studies indicate this is the best medications to alleviate teeth pain until you are able to see your dentist or physician (I would recommend an ENT).
Good luck!

There are multiple choices but the one I think is most effective is to have your dentist or orthodontist place debacterol directly on the canker sores. Typically the cost for treatment ranges from $22-$29. You usually can also take some of the applicators home for the same fee. Good luck and I hope you feel better soon

There are many reasons for why this may be occurring. In this instance the best option is to see your local dentist or your local periodontist and have them check it out for you. On occasion this could be an infection and will need to be treated asap. If they were always a bit dark and only darkened a little this could also be a result of pregnancy ( if you are female!). There are also purple areas around teeth in children called an eruption cyst than can occur sometimes when a permanent tooth is working its way out of the gums. Good Luck!

Ideally, the best course of action will be to see your dentist or a dentist that specializes specifically in TMD (temporomandibular joint disorder). The TMD specialist will determine if an appliance, calibration (adjusted your bite to "even out your bite"), or arthritis treatment will help. As a temporary relief, you can place warm moist heat in the area, eat a soft diet for a few days, and if not contraindicated due to your medical history, take a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medication such as aleve. Do not take aleve indefinitely, but only as a temporary measure to alleviate your pain. Too much aleve can affect your kidneys, bp, stomach and even be fatal if too much is taken or if it taken for too long.
Good luck!

Yes, this sounds like it could be the start of what we call, "black hairy tongue," which we typically see with smokers and people with dry mouth. The recommendation is to see your dentist to address this asap. In the meantime, using a tongue scraper (metal ones are best), drinking plenty of water, eliminate smoking with a plan from your dentist or physician, and use baking soda rinses will help. There is also a prescription mouth rinse known as NeutraSal, which will help with dry mouth if this is a contributing to the issue.
Good luck!

Clove oil may help with the pain if it is due to a true toothache and not just the eruption of the wisdom tooth causing the pain. A non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medication may help but only take for a short amount of time and do not exceed the recommended dose.

Yes, you need to clean your dentures every day. If you have traditional dentures or dentures with "locators" then you can take these out at night to clean them. If this is not an option then at least take them out a minimum of 1 hour every 24 hours to let your tissues breath. A denture brush can be purchased at any pharmacy such as CVS, WALGREENS, or even WALMART. You can also purchase the denture cleaner at these locations and soak them overnight. Remember you also want to scrape your tongue and brush your gums while the dentures are out to eliminate the buildup of bacteria and yeast under your dentures. If you have implant supported dentures that only come out at your dentist office then make sure and use a waterpik daily after meals to keep the area above the implants and under the denture clean. These also should be brushed but make sure with all types of dentures you are using a non abrasive toothbrush designed for dentures to avoid scraping scratching or staining your new dentures. Good Luck!

Please see your dentist or oral surgeon ASAP. A painful abscess will need to be treated with antibiotics as soon as possible so as not to spread and cause issues with your other teeth. If this is not an abscess and is a dry socket then this also will need to be treated by your dentist or oral surgeon. They will place a medication in the area where the tooth was removed. You may have to return for 2-3 days for the medicine to be removed and/or placed again depending on the type of treatment your dentist or oral surgeon uses for dry sockets. Just fyi this is unlikely to be a dry socket as the tooth was removed over a week ago. Good Luck!

Please go see your dentist ASAP. This sounds like the tooth may need either a root canal and a crown or possibly even need to be removed depending on the extent of the decay. The good news is now we can replace a single tooth that has been removed with an implant, abutment ( connector) and an implant crown.
Once you are having pain in your teeth this is a possible indicator of the infection that is causing the decay having reached the nerve of the tooth. See you dentist ASAP before the pain gets worse, and/or the infection spreads. Good Luck!

A Bone Graft is a the best method to build up the bone that is lost over time. The bone will resorb if there is not an implant or a natural tooth in place. A Bone Graft is also recommended immediately following a tooth extraction/removal as the implant will be a single titanium “screw” and most teeth have multiple roots so those extra spaces left in the bone need to be filled in to build the best foundation for a successful integration of your implant into your bone.