This time, I went to the dental clinic with my mom and my little brother. She wanted to get his teeth checked up and consult with the dentist about getting his teeth straightened.
After the check-up, we were told that my brother's been subconsciously clenching his teeth while he sleeps at night, causing temporomandibular joint dysfunction.
Temporomandibular joint dysfunction, or the TMD, causes pain and discomfort in the jaw joint and the muscles that surround it (and control jaw movements). The temporomandibular joint (TMJ) is a hinge joint located in each side of the face (one each) that connects the lower jawbone to the skull. There are three types of TMD: disorder of the jaw, disorder of the chewing muscle, and the headache that occurs from it. There can be many causes, but it is usually done by activities that strains the jaw joints and muscles controlling swallowing, chewing, and even speech.
To keep him from clenching his teeth, he was given a night guard, a dental appliance that fits over the teeth, preventing the upper and lower teeth from touching or grinding against each other.
(Picture Source: Dental Care Blogs - Summit Dental Clinic)
As for straightening the teeth, while my mom was thinking of using braces, the dentist recommended an Invisalign instead. Since braces are brackets (normally metals) bound to the teeth, they are more visible and there's no way to take it out by yourself during the treatment. However, an Invisalign, as hinted in the name, is a clear aligning system, and is nearly invisible to the eyes. In the clinic, braces were less expensive than the Invisalign, but took a longer time for the treatment than it. However, at the end, they would both be able to straighten the teeth.
We decided to think about it a little bit more before making our final decision, although my brother seemed to be leaning more towards the Invisalign.
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