Do you feel pain in your jaws as soon as you wake up? Do you find yourself grinding your teeth when you are worried about something? Have you answered "yes" and "yes" to both? If so, you probably have a disorder called TMJ, which we dentists call temporomandibular joint disorder. It's really only a technical phrase for grinding your teeth at night. The condition is often linked to snoring.

Therefore aching jaws in the morning may be the first symptom of TMJ. It is best you seek treatment as soon as you can, otherwise your teeth will chip and wear away because of the grinding. You should make an appointment with me at my Haddon Township dentist clinic. Once here, I'll give you a mouth guard to see if it will keep your teeth safe from the harsh grinding. Otherwise, you might need a Haddon Township dentist crown.

A Haddon Township dentist crown is the solution for many dental situations. But in this case, it is only if your teeth grinding habit has been going on for many years. My first task is to examine the cusps of your teeth. These are more conspicuously seen in your pre-molars and molars. If they are flattened out, then it is important that we give you a crown immediately.

If you ignore the crown, you may have problems. Eating properly would be an issue. The way you speak may also start to change. If you have acute problems, your jaws may even move out of position.

First of all, I will slice away some of your tooth material to allow plenty of space for the crown. The outer and inner parts of the tooth I take away are called the enamel and dentine respectively.

Then we prepare the materials that make up the crown. I will give you a precious metal alloy for the Haddon Township dental crown. Only a tiny sliver of enamel will be removed. After all, the alloy, even in thin applications, will hold up very well.

If you don't want any precious metals and would prefer ceramic, porcelain or other non-metal materials for your crown, I must go beyond the outer enamel and scrape away some of the inner dentine as well. I need to do this so the crown stays strong.

There is nothing wrong with ceramic or porcelain. However, your best bet is to have a dental crown made of metal porcelain hybrid, giving you a crown that is pleasing to the eye and provides solid support. It is the best of both worlds.