TMD Treatment
Neuromuscular dentistry can realign your bite and resolve your temporomandibular disorder (TMD). To put it simple neuromuscular dentistry places the jaw into its optimal position, relieving the symptoms associated with TMD. Your temporomandibular joint (TMJ) is your jaw joint and when it is misaligned, both the hard and soft tissues are affected causing painful symptoms:
- Headaches
- Jaw joint pain
- Limited mouth opening
- Dizziness
- Loose teeth
- Facial pain
- Clenching or grinding
- Sensitive teeth
- Neck pain
- Hot & cold sensitivity of teeth
- Chewing difficulties
- Postural problems
- Difficulty swallowing
The Diagnosis
Dr. Miller can realign your bite and resolve your TMD symptoms using state of the art technology. By using computerized jaw tracking instruments to record jaw movement, resting position and path of closure he can obtain what your optimal jaw position is. Using an electromyography Dr. Miller looks at your jaw’s muscle function in both its stressed and relaxed positions, and will also measure the jaw-to-skull relationship to see if there is a structural imbalance. Additionally, x-rays of the jaw may be taken to help evaluate the condition and positioning of the joint.
The Treatment
Once you have been diagnosed with TMD, Dr. Miller can determine the treatment that is best suited for your needs. Typically treatment will follow three steps:
- Relieve muscle spasm and pain. The immediate concern is to relieve your symptoms. The best way to do this is by using the “K7-Tens”. This is an ultra low frequency transcutaneous electrical neural stimulation. In other words rhythmic pulses relax muscles with a gentle massage. The gentle massage increases blood flow and pumps out the waste products. It also helps with pain relief by stimulating the body’s production of endorphins, the body’s natural anesthetic.
- Stabilize the bite. A temporary device called an orthotic is worn over your teeth. The orthotic allows Dr. Miller to make any easy adjustment to the plastic without adjusting the teeth until the bite is stabilized. Once your symptoms are relieved and your bite is stabilized, Dr. Miller then moves onto the next step of permanently adjusting your bite to the correct position.
- Long-term management. Once the orthotic has provided major relief or resolved the problem, we suggest you elect to go on and have your natural teeth treated to permanently maintain that new bite position. Treatment will depend on your particular condition and could include orthodontics, reconstruction of the teeth (veneers, crowns, bridges or implants), or a combination of these procedures to permanently alter your bite.