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Do I Need to See My Dentist After Getting Head Butted by a Horse?

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I was at my horse riding lesson when I got head-butted by a horse. It was not the fault of the school. I was standing too close to his head on the side without holding his bridle. Chestnut shook his head to try to get something off his ear and his head hit me on the left side of my face. I was wearing my helmet, so that was good. I thought I was fine. I just had a small bruise on the side of my face, which healed well. The last two days, however, my jaw has really been hurting and sore. It’s hard to open my mouth all the way. A friend of mine told me that trauma to the jaw can cause TMJ Disorder. Do you think I should see a dentist or should I just give it some more time?

Alley

Dear Alley,

Woman Holding her jaw in pain

Wow! Horse riding lessons sound fun…well, except for that head-butting thing. I’m sorry for your injury. Your friend is correct. You do need to get this checked out. While time heals bruises, it doesn’t do much for joint damage, which is what TMJ Disorder is. The trauma for the horse could have knocked your temporomandibular joint out of alignment. This can lead to pain in your jaw, difficulty opening your mouth, clicking sounds, and even migraines.

There are also the possibilities of a sprain or fracture of your jaw. Because of that, I think you should get this area imaged as soon as possible. Even if you don’t have any symptoms, it is important to have an injury imaged.

Be Careful About the Dentist

There is not currently a recognized specialty in TMJ. Because of that, you want to be careful at who you have do your evaluation and treatment, if that becomes necessary. You will want a dentist who has invested in post-doctoral TMJ training. Take a look at Dr. Weiss’s bio to get an idea of what you want in a dentist with regard to an understand of how TMJ disorder works. There are many horror stories of patients whose jaws were destroyed by dentists who didn’t know what they were doing. I don’t want you to be one of them.

This blog is brought to you by Philadelphia Dentist Dr. Michael Weiss.

Should I Finish My Full Mouth Reconstruction?

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I am in the middle of a full-mouth reconstruction and I am not sure if I want to complete it. The lower teeth were done first. They look beautiful because I hired an AACD-accredited dentist. I know it sounds weird but that is what is bothering me. They look so perfect. I had a quirky smile and this just looks like your typical celebrity smile. I feel stupid but I miss the quirkiness of my smile. The reason for the reconstruction to begin with is that I had been grinding my teeth down. My dentist didn’t mention it until they were ground down and then he told me that I needed a full-mouth reconstruction. I was a little annoyed, which is how I started doing research about what it means and who should do it. That led me to getting an accredited dentist. Will I have to get the uppers done? Can I just whiten the uppers so they don’t look so perfect as the bottoms?

Callie

Dear Callie,

A woman pointing at her smile

First, I want to tell you that your original dentist could and should have told you about the grinding to begin with. That would have saved you this expense and hassle. All you would have needed was a simple mouthguard and your teeth would have been protected even with the grinding. I’m going to suggest you find a different dentist who is more interested in protecting your teeth. Though, that doesn’t help with your present predicament.

If you are worried about the smile looking too perfect, I would say take full advantage of the skill an AACD accredited dentist has. What I mean by that is they are tasked with making Hollywood smiles all day long. I think they would jump with glee at the chance to make a quirky smile. You could literally get whatever you wanted and make a dentist and ceramist’s day with your desire for it not to be perfect.

As for just not completing it and just whitening, I haven’t seen your case, so couldn’t tell you with definitely. While you can definitely whiten, what I can tell you is that if the damage isn’t too bad, you can just get a mouthguard to protect them for further grinding. This will be important because the crowns on your lower teeth will be a bit more abrasive on the uppers than your natural teeth are. If the damage is bad, you will want to complete the case. Having a collapsed bite can lead to pain and serious TMJ Disorder.

Just remember, you can get quirky.

This blog is brought to you by Philadelphia Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Michael Weiss.

Collapsing Mouth

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I have an almost non-existent smile. Over the years, it seems my teeth have become less and less visible. It’s almost impossible to see my teeth, even when I smile. My jaw also aches all the time. I’ve noticed I feel the most comfortable at night when I’m wearing my night guard. When I talked to my dentist about my concerns, he suggested I get porcelain veneers. Before moving forward, I just wanted to get a second opinion.

Melanie

Dear Melanie,

Woman Holding her jaw in pain

I haven’t examined you so bear in mind I am only going based on your description. It sounds like you may be someone who struggles with either teeth grinding or clenching. This may be why your dentist has a night guard. The grinding can wear down your teeth to little nubs. It sounds like you’ve worn down your teeth to the point your mouth has become over closed.

Three things you mentioned lend credence to this. First, your teeth are less visible; second, your jaw aches; and third, you feel best when wearing the night guard.

What porcelain veneers will do is improve the appearance of your teeth. They will not solve the root issue of your mouth being over closed or the jaw pain.

My suggestion is for you to see a TMJ Dentist. This is a potentially serious issue that may need a totally different solution using dental crowns to build your bite back up.

One of the problems you will face is there isn’t a recognized TMJ Specialty, so any dentist can call themselves a TMJ Dentist. To make sure you are seeing a dentist who has the right training to help you, look for one who has done post-doctoral training at one of the following institutes:

  • The Pankey Institute
  • The Dawson Academy
  • The Las Vegas Institute for Advanced Dental Studies

A dentist with training from one of these reputable schools will be able to help.

This blog is brought to you by Philadelphia Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Michael Weiss.