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Delivering Proven Solutions for head and neck pain caused by TMJ
Every year, millions of people suffer from pain and other symptoms of TMJ. Unexplained pain in your face, jaw, teeth, or that headache that continues to return. Many people go from doctor to doctor searching for relief, but no one is sure of the origin of their condition or how to solve it.
If you are suffering from:
- Migraines
- Neck aches
- Numbness in your fingers or arms
- Facial pain
- Clicking or grating sound in the jaw joints
- Limited movement or locking of the jaw
- Cracking, chipping or breaking dental restorations
- Congestion or stuffiness of the ears
- Worn chipping or cracked teeth
- Pain or soreness around the jaw joints or ears
- Pain in teeth that seem to move around
- Unexplained loose teeth
Then we may be able to help you!
Through the use of sophisticated computer analysis, we can help manage or alleviate TMJ pain by objectively determining a natural, comfortably balanced jaw position, and correcting a misaligned bite. We use TENS [Transcutaneous Electrical Neural Stimulation] to relax the muscles of the head and neck. TENS is also used to relieve pain caused by spasm and tension by releasing endorphins, the body’s own natural pain killers.
Through the combined use of TENS and jaw-tracking, we are able to find a physiological rest position for the jaw, or a position which is compatible with the relaxed muscles. EMG [Electromyography] is used to objectively look at the electrical activity in the muscles, and ESG [Sonography] to evaluate joint noises.
WHAT DOES ALL THIS MEAN?
The muscles want to be happy…and the brain is trying to get the jaw to that position which is why people grind their teeth. When the jaw is not where the muscles are happy, then the muscles complain, like headaches, neck pain, back pain… We put the jaw, by changing the bite, where the muscles are happy.
These sophisticated instruments have been used in medical specialties for years and are being used in neuromuscular dentistry to measure muscle dysfunction of the jaw, a major component in many headaches. This objective collection of data is then analyzed and combined with specialized joint x-rays to diagnose the problem, after which a precise and individualized treatment plan is developed that most often leads to improvement and / or elimination of pain.
As a chronic degenerative disease, it often takes years to develop TMJ. With new techniques and the objective computerized data, we have been able to help many that have been previously unable to find relief.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are TMJ and related problems so hard to diagnose?
Well, first of all, the majority of dentists are not trained in neuromuscular TMJ diagnosis and treatment. Oftentimes, there are many overlapping symptoms such as headaches, migraines jaw pain, popping, neck pain, physical injury, tooth grinding, ect… Only specially trained neuromuscular dentists are taught to recognize indications of bite problems. Because some of your symptoms could be rooted in a number of other causes, general dentists and family doctors may ignore the possibility that TMJ is the culprit. In other instances, dentists or doctors may recognize a bite problem, but are at a loss for how to find its cause.
I’ve had a TMJ splint before and it didn’t help. How can neuromuscular treatment be different?
Your previous splint was most likely built to an arbitrary biting position. Most splints are not built into a Neuromuscularly relaxed jaw/biting position. The whole difference in splints is the jaw position that it is designed to replicate. Unless you have had a neuromuscular computerized bite analysis, then your splint is probably not allowing your jaw to live in it’s relaxed position.
Will I need surgery for my TMJ condition?
When undergoing neuromuscular TMJ treatment, it is very rare that a surgery would be necessary. In our experience, most TMJ surgery provides only a temporary solution, because the underlying problem of jaw & biting position has not been addressed.
