Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
WELLNESSTeeth<br />
Teething Problem<br />
Stress can take a toll on your teeth. BY Rael Yip<br />
Dr. Meenakshi Malhi (right) in consultation with a patient.<br />
On one of my visits to the dentist a year ago, I was told<br />
that apparently I am grinding my teeth. That was the<br />
first time I’ve heard of it. On a subsequent visit to a<br />
different dentist, I had the same comment again; there<br />
are signs I am a grinder.<br />
I finally decided to do something about it on my subsequent<br />
visit to the dentist. Dr. Meenakshi Malhi, at T32 Dental Centre<br />
at Financial District, examined my mouth and showed me my<br />
teeth on a LED Screen.<br />
“Your front teeth shows signs of wear, but your back teeth looks<br />
fine. They have uneven contours and are not flat like your front<br />
teeth,” Dr. Meena told me. “Are you under a lot of stress?”<br />
My work is not overly<br />
stressful at the moment, but<br />
a year or so back I did face<br />
some personal and work<br />
issues which might have<br />
added some pressure. Dr.<br />
Meena explained that stress<br />
and lack of good sleep<br />
are two main causes that<br />
lead people to grind their<br />
teeth, a condition known as<br />
bruxism, and that can just<br />
be the tip of the iceberg.<br />
She has patients who grind<br />
their teeth at night and<br />
clench them during the<br />
day. This not only leads to<br />
flattening and chipping of<br />
the teeth, grinders can also<br />
suffer from headaches, jaw<br />
and tooth aches.<br />
My custom night guard.<br />
The grinders that Dr. Meena sees in her practice are<br />
predominantly single, professional women in high pressured<br />
jobs. Patients can undergo more detailed tests such as a sleep<br />
study or see a specialist in sleep medicine to find out exactly<br />
what is causing their grinding and treat the root cause.<br />
The pressure individuals place on themselves while sleeping can<br />
be intense. “Teeth grinding is known to generate forces over 30<br />
kg, that’s at least twice more pressure than when you chew on<br />
hard food like a carrot, which produces a bite force of between 7<br />
to 15 kg,” Dr Meena shared. Regular grinding will accelerate the<br />
wearing down of our teeth.<br />
Remediation includes reducing stress, drinking enough water,<br />
getting adequate sleep, relaxing the face and jaw during the day<br />
and avoiding alcohol and caffeine. The most common dental<br />
solution is a custom night guard constructed by a dentist, who<br />
will measure your mouth and teeth and build one based on<br />
these specifications.<br />
My custom night guard was ready three weeks later after my<br />
session with Dr. Meena. The guard fits snugly onto my upper<br />
row of teeth and I am advised to wear it every night while<br />
asleep. It took me three weeks before it felt more or less normal<br />
but if it protects my teeth, then I’m game. At the same time, this<br />
set off some soul-searching. I needed to relax more and ease off<br />
my self-flagellation of getting less than eight hours of sleep – I<br />
regularly live on barely six on weekdays. My teeth is a good<br />
wake-up call.<br />
T32 Dental Centre at Financial District<br />
138 Market Street, #02-01 CapitaGreen<br />
t32dental.com<br />
For appointments, call 6385 1788 or email t32fd@t32dental.com<br />
EXQUISITE | 79
Change language