Hello from Dr. Bickley and team,
We have survived almost 2 years of COVID craziness and are here to tell the story. We hope this finds you and your family in good health. Everyone here at the office has been healthy and well. Our main goal continues to be your safety, health, and comfort while here in the office. While some CDC Covid guidelines for healthcare settings and dentistry are cumbersome and a burden to our patients and staff, we strive to take the necessary and required guidelines in a manor to put you all at ease as much as possible. We will continue to re-evaluate all our protocol to make your appointment as smooth as possible. Please continue to bear with us during this continued challenge.
On the dental front, both nationally and in our office, there has been a significant increase in bruxism (grinding teeth) during the pandemic. Researchers speculate the rise may be multifactorial with greater stress from health worries, Covid worry, loss of work, childcare and education, and less ability to see friends and relatives socially as we have in the past or possibly even being around immediate family way too much! Bruxism consists of teeth grinding or clenching (squeezing) teeth together. Bruxism deteriorates tooth structure due to heavy forces that can cause wear, fracture, pain, soreness of the jaw and TMJ, and loosening of teeth (mobility). Temperature sensitivity can also be a symptom. Although we cannot remove stress from our daily lives, we do have dental appliances and recommendations that can protect your teeth and jaws from pain and reduce damage.
If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, we will be glad to help you manage your bruxism and hopefully guide you to reducing stressers causing you to grind.
We cannot get rid of Covid and the change in our new way of life, but we hope to have you smiling your way through it with a healthy mouth.
All Our Best,
Dr. Bickley and Staff
