Covid 19 and Stress and your Oral Health.  

The American Dental Association recently conducted a tracking poll and reported that a vast majority of dentists in the USA indicated stress-related oral health conditions among their respective patients has increased since the COVID-19 pandemic began. 

Tightness in the jaw can cause pain or discomfort in many parts of the body, including head, ears, teeth, face, and neck. The intensity of the pain can vary, and is often described as aching, throbbing, tender, or severe. These feelings may become worse while chewing or yawning. The exact location of the pain can also vary, with discomfort on one or both sides of the face, jaw, nose, mouth, or ears. 

Clenching or grinding may also be caused by stress, genetics or dental problems, such as misaligned teeth. Clenching and grinding can occur during sleep, or when awake, although you may not be consciously aware of it. Clenching and grinding can cause tightness or feelings of soreness in the face, neck, and upper or lower jaw. It can also cause headaches or earaches. 

Tips to relieve Jaw Stress  

Exercise - Small mouth-opening and mouth-closing movements several times as a warm up. Then, place your fingers on the top of your front four bottom teeth. Slowly pull down until you feel slight discomfort on the tight side of your jaw. Hold for 30 seconds, and then slowly release your jaw and relax . 

Jaw joint stretch This exercise helps stretch the muscles of the jaw and neck. Press the tip of your tongue onto the roof of your mouth, directly behind your top front teeth without touching them; then use your tongue to apply gentle pressure to slowly open your mouth as wide as you can, then slowly close. 

The  smile stretch helps eliminate stress in the facial muscles, upper and lower jaw, and neck. Start by smiling the widest smile you can without feeling tightness or pain. While smiling, slowly open your jaw an additional 2 inches. Inhale deeply through your mouth, then exhale while letting go of the smile. Repeat these exercises up to 10 times. Stop at the point if you feel pain.  

Mouth guards - Are beneficial especially if jaw tightness is caused by clenching or grinding teeth while asleep. They help reduce contact between the upper and lower teeth. This helps reduce wear and tera and fractures on the teeth and can help to eliminate jaw tightness, pain and headaches. 

Massage – Is often recommended to help increase blood flow and reduce muscle tightness. You can try this by opening your mouth and gently rubbing the muscles next to your ears in a circular motion. This is the area where the temporomandibular joints are located. Try this several times a day, including right before bed.

Dental Care in the time of Covid and how to manage the stress that can affect your oral and overall health. We all know how stress can affect our bodies, and indeed our whole lives. With the continued spread of the Corona Virus worldwide, and the consequences of that, it’s natural we may all be feeling a heighten sense of stress these days.   

We miss of families and friends; we miss our acquaintances in the neighborhood restaurants, cafes. we miss our work mates and going out and it can all lead to an increased feeling of stress building up. How it affects our health shows up sometimes in little ways gradually or immediately.  

Here is one way stress can be affecting your oral and overall health

Bruxism; also known as clenching the jaw, grinding the jaw, clamping the jaw be affecting with increased stress levels.  We can do this in our sleep without knowing it and we can do it during the day subconsciously, even knowingly it can be a hard habit to break and one of the first signs of stress. Over time it can affect the length and strength of your teeth, it can affect muscles in your neck, shoulders, head, jaw, chest. People can experience an increase in aches. pains, headaches, morning aches and not even think it may be coming from their jaw.

The good news is you can do something stop this from happening and work to minimize the affects without even breaking a sweat! The advent of 3D technology, new processes and materials has allowed for the best precision and fit for dental guards. Some believe it is uncomfortable to wear a night guard however follow up with our patients tells us that once they do it for a couple of nights, they realize it is no big issue, and truly start to feel the results.  

Dental Night Guards can offer immediate relief from headaches, neck, jaw, shoulder pain, they can be done in a quick appointment and are cost effective being less than the cost of a single crown or Veneer.

Dental health truly affects our overall health and during the Covid 19 pandemic it is even more important to have great oral health daily habits.   Stay healthy, stay happy.  

DaVinci’s Dental Care is a 5 Star Boutique style clinic where the highest in 3D Dental technology meets the best in artistic restoration results.

 For more questions about your dental health contact us at clinic@davincisdentalcare.com    or phone 506 2290 6062 or phone/ Text 011 506 7131 0458 

Experience the DaVinci’s Difference! 

Dental Care in the time of Covid 19. We all know how our dental health affects our overall health and during the Covid 19 pandemic it is even more important to have great oral health daily habits.

Here ‘s a couple things to remember during your Covid 19 Quarantine and everyday thereafter!

Do not skip meals during your quarantine, you need the strength a healthy diet provides, and it’s great for the pearly white enamel of your teeth.

Drink plenty of water, when you let yourself get dehydrated it takes a toll on your whole system including brain function and oral health.

Brush and floss your teeth after every meal… like Nike says … “Just do it”

Brush your teeth with your brush at a 45-degree angle with short, tooth-length strokes for maximum effect. Additionally, you should brush your teeth for at least two minutes each time.

Change your toothbrush. A worn toothbrush damages your teeth, change it every 2 to 3 months.

Keep your toothbrush Soft. Toothbrushes with bristles that are too hard can really damage your teeth by wearing down the structure. Choose brushes with soft bristles, they’re as effective as medium or hard brushes without any risks of tooth enamel or structure damage.

DaVinci’s Dental Care is a 5 Star Boutique style clinic where the highest in 3D Dental technology meets the best in artistic restoration results. Experience the DaVinci’s Difference!

For more questions about your dental health contact us at clinic@davincisdentalcare.com Phone/ Text 011 506 7131 0458

Covid 19 Infection Control Protocols in Costa Rica with Dr. Delfin Barquero

All doctors and staff who treat patients are trained in infection prevention methods and follow infection control guidelines set by The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. These infection prevention and control recommendations for daily practice of dental treatments include:

• Exam room disinfection protocols

• Common area, waiting room disinfection protocols

• Proper hand washing and hand hygiene techniques

• The wearing of clean personal protective equipment

• The use of sterilized dental instruments

How Dr. Del Keeps You & Your Family Safe from Infection at Every Visit

Our daily protocols to prevent infection start early in the morning and continue throughout the day. When a patient enters the clinic, their shoes will be immediately disinfected, then the temperate is taken and the patient is asked to clean their hands with alcohol gel before taking a seat in the waiting area where physical distancing has been arranged for your safety.  We follow these protocols every day, for every patient.  

What gets disinfected before you sit in Dr. Del’s Dental Chair Before a patient enters the examination room it has already gone through the sterilization process and is immediately thoroughly cleaned and sterilized again between each patient. This includes:

• Dental treatment chair

• Dental light

• Instrument tray and all dental instruments

• All Drawers, counter tops, and surfaces

• Aerosol misting sterilization spray machine in each treatment room

• High suction oral spray machine at each chair side   

Sterile, disposable items are changed between each patient such as disposable gloves, disposable masks, disposable gowns, sterilized protective eye wear,.

All non-disposable dental instruments are sterilized between patients using special dental sterilization machines and equipment. Disposable instruments and needles come from sealed, sterile packs. All disposable instruments and needles are properly disposed of after one-time use. A disposable tool is never reused.  

“Your dental health has always been important to me, that’s why I’ve invested in new equipment throughout the clinic so you can be assured your visit will be clean, sterile & safe.”   – Dr. Del