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Spear Digest Dental Articles

If You Think You Thought of Everything, Ask Your Patient
1
Occlusion & Wear

If You Think You Thought of Everything, Ask Your Patient

Edges of anterior teeth are chipped and broken on a regular basis. They are broken during playground accidents, chipped while drinking from a glass...

| 10 years ago ›
Occlusal Reduction for Indirect Restorations: Is 1.5 mm Enough?
Occlusion & Wear

Occlusal Reduction for Indirect Restorations: Is 1.5 mm Enough?

Are the posterior indirect restorations you receive back from your laboratory, relatively flat compared to your expectations? Is it your laboratory's...

| 10 years ago ›
Why 'Watching' Might Be Negligent
1
Occlusion & Wear

Why 'Watching' Might Be Negligent

The image on the left is of a 28-year-old patient I saw for a routine exam. She was unaware that she had any wear on her teeth and also didn't realize...

| 10 years ago ›
Occlusal Appliances: The Anterior-only Appliance for Treating Muscle Pain (Part II)
1
Occlusion & Wear

Occlusal Appliances: The Anterior-only Appliance for Treating Muscle Pain (Part II)

As expressed in Part I of this article, an anterior-only appliance is an excellent choice for patients with muscle pain because it reduces muscle activity...

| 10 years ago ›
Occlusal Appliances: The Anterior-only Appliance for Treating Muscle Pain (Part I)
Occlusion & Wear

Occlusal Appliances: The Anterior-only Appliance for Treating Muscle Pain (Part I)

As I described in a previous article, an anterior-only appliance is an excellent choice for patients with muscle pain because it reduces muscle activity...

| 10 years ago ›
Occlusal Appliances: Diagnosing Muscle and Joint Pain
1
Occlusion & Wear

Occlusal Appliances: Diagnosing Muscle and Joint Pain

In this series I have discussed what appliance options exist, why we typically use occlusal appliances and the potential theory of how they impact muscles...

| 10 years ago ›
Occlusal Appliances: How Do They Impact Joints?
Occlusion & Wear

Occlusal Appliances: How Do They Impact Joints?

Pain in the area surrounding the TMJ can be referred from several sources, particularly muscles. This is especially true of pain in front of the ear,...

| 10 years ago ›
Can We Be Too Accurate With Bite Records?
Occlusion & Wear

Can We Be Too Accurate With Bite Records?

Over the years the accuracy we are able to achieve in dentistry has greatly increased. While in most cases the more accurate we can be the better, there...

| 10 years ago ›
Occlusal Appliances: How Do They Impact Muscles? [Part II]
Occlusion & Wear

Occlusal Appliances: How Do They Impact Muscles? [Part II]

As I mentioned in Part I of this article, it is critical that clinicians realize that different patients may respond differently to the same occlusal...

| 10 years ago ›
Occlusal Appliances: How do They Impact Muscles? [Part I]
Occlusion & Wear

Occlusal Appliances: How do They Impact Muscles? [Part I]

In this series I have previously described the common appliance options available, as well as the most common reasons an appliance may be prescribed....

| 10 years ago ›
Occlusal Appliances: Why Use Them? [Part II]
Occlusion & Wear

Occlusal Appliances: Why Use Them? [Part II]

The following is an continuation of the overview of the more common reasons for prescribing occlusal appliances. In Part I, I discussed: Diagnosing...

| 10 years ago ›
Occlusal Appliances: Why Use Them? [Part I]
1
Occlusion & Wear

Occlusal Appliances: Why Use Them? [Part I]

In the previous article in this series I outlined the more common occlusal appliance options available. In this article I'll provide an overview of the...

| 10 years ago ›