​ If you or your partner are among the 40 percent of adult males and 24 percent of adult females who snore, getting some relief may be a concern. Many products claim to offer solutions to snoring, from nasal strips that hold your airway open to sleep orthotics that prop your jaw open. But while you may think you're doing yourself and your partner a...

Picture this: You’re finally getting treatment for your TMJ disorder. You’ve been prescribed neuromuscular orthodontic treatment, but Dr. George has prescribed you not one but two different mouth guards - one to wear during the day, and one to wear at night. Why do you need two different mouth guards? You have the same mouth no matter what time of day it is, right? So what’s the big difference between day and night guards, anyway? Day Guards Day mouth guards are designed to discreetly fit over the teeth without being obvious. With a day guard you can still speak and carry on normal activities while preventing things like bruxism (teeth grinding) and positioning your jaw into place. Day guards also help prevent you from using your teeth for other bad habits like nail biting, because they must be removed to chew anything. Night Guards Night guards are equally as functional as day guards, but with less concern about being discreet. Night guards address a variety of issues such as bruxism, sleep apnea and aligning of the jaw to its optimal position. With time, neuromuscular orthodontics, including your night guard, can adjust the jaw positioning so that you may not need to wear a night guard that is bulky – or you may not need to wear a night guard at all. Do I Really Need Two Mouth Guards? Just as not everyone’s TMJ disorder is the same, not everyone will require the same TMJ disorder treatment. This includes the use of day and/or night guards. You may not want to wear two different night guards around the clock, but for best results, and for the sake of your teeth, if Dr. George prescribes two mouth guards for your treatment, trust her expertise and wear your day and night guards as prescribed. Want to learn more about mouth guards to treat TMJ disorder? Call Dr. George's office at 724-220-2347.

Marathons. Triathlons. Tough mudders. Whatever your endurance sport, training and performing is a major plus for your body. From your heart to your muscles to even your mental health, physical activity has a holistic positive effect on all the systems of the body. But there’s one area of your body that may not be so lucky if you’re not careful. It’s your mouth, and endurance training can really put it through the ringer. If you participate in any kind of endurance sports – or even just put in a grueling workout at the gym – here’s what you should know about protecting your oral health. Dr. Alexandra George is a dentist from Wexford, Pennsylvania. She says participants in endurance sports need to be extra mindful of their oral health. "It’s natural when straining your body to grit or grind your teeth," she says. "That is why it's imperative that when you are participating in endurance sports you wear a mouth guard. A mouth guard is also useful for protecting teeth against accidents like falls or being accidentally hit in the mouth while being active." Another natural thing to do when performing an endurance sport is to breathe through the mouth. This forceful breathing can be dangerous to the teeth because it dries the mouth out at a faster rate than normal mouth breathing or nasal breathing. If you breathe through the mouth while participating in sports, be sure to increase your fluids to compensate! "When performing in sporting events many people choose to drink sugary electrolyte-enhanced beverages that can be bad for the teeth," says George. "If you drink sugary sports drinks, the combination of dry mouth and excess sugar is upping your risk of cavities and bad breath. If you must drink sports drinks while active, be sure to alternate sips with water, or rinse your mouth out with water when your sports drink is finished." Because of the extra wear and tear on your teeth from endurance training, it is important that you visit your dentist more frequently than you might think. George recommends you stop by your dentist’s office at least two or three times a year to be sure that your oral health is solid and there is no damage to your teeth. Remember: Your oral health, or lack thereof, affects your total body health, which can affect your sports performance.

Are you a fan of HGTV shows like Fixer Upper, where experts show average Americans just how easy it is to "do it yourself," or DIY, home renovations? Well, it may be easy to install your own tile backsplash or create the perfect accent wall, but there are some things that really are best left to the experts. One of those things is the treatment of your temporomandibular joint disorder, or TMD. Here’s why.A quick Google search for at-home TMD treatments can easily yield dozens of results. At-home, one-size-fits-all orthotics can be purchased online and at the pharmacy for as little as $15. When you compare that to the cost of a complete neuromuscular dentistry treatment and possible full-mouth reconstruction, it seems like you’re getting an amazing deal. But the truth isn’t always what it seems.Save Your Money - Or Your SmileFifteen bucks to treat a TMD seems like a bargain until you realize that A) it won’t work, and B) it will probably end up making your TMD worse. So not only are you out the $15, but you still must also treat your TMD professionally, and it may even end up costing you more money depending on how much damage the OTC treatment caused.One Size Doesn’t Fit AllHow many times have you seen something that claims to be "one size fits all" only to buy it and find that it most certainly doesn’t? That’s because we’re all built differently - and even the more modern "one size fits most" can be misleading with so many variations in body types.And just like those drug store sunglasses that don’t quite sit properly on your nose or that sun hat you bought that constantly falls in your eyes, contrary to what these orthotic manufacturers would like you to believe, their "one-size-fits-all" approach to TMD treatment can’t work, either.That’s because there is no "one size fits all" solution to TMD. For starters, everyone’s mouth is shaped differently. Our jaws, teeth, bite and temporomandibular joints are all different - and so are our specific problems. Even with neuromuscular dentistry, the same treatment plan that helped your brother may not do anything for you – or it might make your TMD worse.But What About Boil and Bite?A lot of people think they can get professional results from a "boil and bite" aligner. These mouth guards are roughly the same shape as your jaw, but you can customize them further by boiling them and then biting into the softened material inside. This creates a perfect fit to your teeth - and only your teeth. In theory, this sounds like a great idea, but these aligners are really designed for athletes who must protect their teeth during a sport or strenuous physical activity. And while these OTC aligners are somewhat customized, treating a TMD is about more than just protecting your teeth.Aside from a boil and bite aligner not accounting for every piece of what is often a multi-faceted problem, these aligners also have the potential to make TMDs worse. That’s because if they don’t account for individual issues within the TMD, they could actually push your jaw further out of alignment. Remember that part about one size not fitting all? Well, if your jaw needs to move slightly forward and your best friend’s needs to move a little backward, if you use the same OTC aligner that pushes your jaw forward, her jaw will get worse and yours might get worse too if it's pushed too far or not forward enough. Worse yet, you could force your bite out of alignment in such a way that requires orthodontic correction further down the road!The Neuromuscular Dentistry DifferenceSo, what is the solution? Neuromuscular dentistry is the most effective way to treat TMDs, often to the point of completely eliminating your symptoms. We do this by treating not just one area of the mouth, such as the bite or the jaw, but every area affected by the TMD, so that all the pieces of the mouth and jaw work together harmoniously. This not only corrects every problem caused by or causing the TMD pain, but it also helps ensure that the TMD stays away permanentlyNo TMD treatment plan is identical, but they all work toward the same goal: getting rid of your TMD pain. If you’re interested in learning more about how neuromuscular dentistry can help your TMD, please give Dr. Alexandra George’s office a call at 724-934-3422 and schedule a consultation.

It’s that time of year again: The snow tires go back on the car, the snow boots come out of storage, and the snow shovel returns to its spot beside the door. But your home, car and clothing aren’t the only things that need winterizing this time of year. Believe it or not, your mouth needs extra protection in the winter, too!