Sore teeth? Sore jaw?

Clenching.

Grinding.

Gritting.

These are all common names for bruxism, or occlusal parafunction, which occurs when a person positions their teeth together and applies significant force.

Jaw clicks?

Jaw pops?

Jaw locks?

These sounds and sensations could be signs that there are dysfunction and/or deterioration of the masticatory system (muscles, ligaments, bones, connective tissue, teeth, and nerves). Intervention can be as simple as stress management or more involved depending on the severity and symptoms. Both temporomandibular joints work in conjunction with one another, and excessive stress, strain, or trauma can damage one or both of them. If you have concerns with your teeth or jaw joint, you should reach out to your dental provider for a thorough evaluation.

A healthier smile starts with you.

Take control of your dental health.

We are here to help.

COVID-19 Oral Signs & Symptoms

Lips, Cheeks, Tongue - all places where subtle changes can observed during the early infection of COVID-19. A systematic review of 40 studies found 45% of COVID-19 infected individuals presented with oral signs/symptoms including: loss of taste, dry mouth, and blistering of the oral tissues.

COVID tongue is a clinical presentation of your tongue first described in the United Kingdom. The tongue appears enlarged, to the point where the sides of the tongue are scalloped due to tongue pressing against the teeth. Other changes include patches of color changes throughout the surface of the tongue, which are reddish in color with a white to off white halo surrounding the red lesions. These lesions are typically not circles, but rather odd shaped rings that can mimic geographic tongue (benign migratory glossitis).

Lips and cheek lesions present much like canker sores (aphthous ulcers). These superficial changes can blister and form ulcers and appear on the lips, lining of the cheeks, and gum tissues. These symptoms often appear within the first few days of infection, and do not appear in all cases, however, some cases these are some of the only symptoms.

A healthier smile starts with you.

Take control of your dental health.

We are here to help.