Established in Camberwell, Dr Bob Cvetkovic is a family dentist delivering a comprehensive range of dental and oral health care services.
This starts with routine check-ups and includes emergency care, plus cosmetic, preventive, and restorative dental treatments.
He and his team are caring and dedicated to nurturing your oral health through dietary, oral hygiene, and lifestyle counselling.
Listening to your needs and concerns, Dr Bob supports and works with you to help you take care of your oral health.
Good oral hygiene and healthy lifestyle choices are key to maintaining a healthy mouth and smile.
However, other factors can impact your oral health and general well-being.
Bruxism, more commonly referred to as teeth grinding or clenching, can damage your teeth and negatively impact your general health and well-being.
Bruxism involves clenching of the jaw and the grinding or gnawing of teeth.
It can happen during sleep and/or when awake.
If left unmanaged, bruxism can lead to more serious temporomandibular joint disorders generally referred to as TMJD.
Common signs and symptoms include achy teeth and gums, sore or clicky jaw joint, painful and tight facial muscles, tension headaches, sore ears, neck pain, cracked or chipped teeth, broken crowns, fillings or bridges, sensitive teeth, and even trauma to the tongue and cheeks.
Bruxism is most commonly caused by a mixture of physical and psychological risk factors – alcohol, smoking, caffeine, pharmaceutical and other recreational drugs, stress, and other mental health disorders, also including sleep disturbances such as sleep apnoea.
Children will often grind their teeth due to stress, misaligned teeth, loosening of deciduous (baby) teeth, the eruption of adult teeth, perhaps even enlarged tonsils, and at times of head colds and flu.
Quite commonly they will grind because it feels good and relieves the aches of the major changes their jaws experience as they mature.
Luckily most children will grow out of this, but it is important to remain mindful of the causes, especially if it continues into their teens.
It might be necessary to seek a health professional’s advice on treating psychological risk factors.
Dr Bob Cvetkovic is at Camberwell Dental Associates, 681 Burke Road, Camberwell.
To book an appointment or make an inquiry, call 9882 3366 or email admin@camberwelldentalassociates.com.au.
