Night Guards

Bruxism, commonly known as grinding, is a detrimental habit that will wear down tooth structure, decrease the longevity of restorations, lead to TMJ associated pain, and collapse one’s bite, jaw esthetics, and fullness. Methods to help stop grinding are stress reduction protocol and avoiding bad habits of clenching and grinding during the day. However, most individuals will clench and grind their teeth at night during sleep, thus a personally fabricated night guard will help preserve your teeth and existing restorations, and in some cases can be fabricated to aid with pain and discomfort associated with our TMJ’s. The night guard is an acrylic material that covers the chewing surfaces of our teeth. Though it is called a “night guard,” this can be worn anytime there is a persistent habit of clenching and grinding.

Sports Guards

Children can be very active and sports can be an amazing outlet for that energy. However, many sports come with a great amount of physical contact. Dr. Barrington himself experienced a sports related injury to his mouth and can empathize with patients who have injuries to the oral facial region. For this reason, Dr. Barrington takes a personal approach to educate his patients on sports injuries to the oral facial region and what steps to take if you experience one. A sports guard is a great preventative measure to protect our mouths when playing contact sports. A sports guard is a semi-rigid, yet comfortable, appliance that sits over the teeth and gums. The appliance will protect the dentition and supporting bone in cases of facial injuries.

Bone Grafting

Our teeth and roots help maintain the height and health of our supporting bone structures. If we are missing a tooth for a long period of time, our bone levels could recede. As we wish to replace a tooth with an implant, we must have strong supporting bone to allow the implant to anchor. Therefore, bone grafting can be done in various stages to aid in proper implant placement and long term success.

Implants

A tooth’s root has many functions, but in large it acts as the tooth’s anchor and support being embedded below our gums and in our bone. If there is ever an instance where we must extract a tooth or there is a tooth missing, an implant may be a great alternative. The implant serves that same anchoring function of the root. When an implant is placed, the bone must heal, grow, and integrate with the implant. Once integrated, a crown/cap may be placed on top of the implant to restore function and esthetics.