Neuromuscular dentistry (TMJ)

If you have suffered from chronic jaw pain and consulted numerous physicians who were unable to diagnose and treat your condition, it is possible that you are suffering from Temporomandibular Joint Disorder (referred to as TMD or TMJ) and need the help of the neuromuscular dentistry offered at Mag-Dent dental center.

Neuromuscular dentistry addresses the nerves, muscles and alignment of the jaw. If your jaw is found to be misaligned, we realign your bite by placing your jaw in its optimal position. By having your jaw position optimized, common Temporomandibular Joint Disorder (TMJ) symptoms will be relieved and your quality of life improved, as you will no longer experience pain from routine jaw movements.

A majority of North Americans suffer from one or more of these symptoms, and unfortunately in many cases these patients’ symptoms are either misdiagnosed or dismissed as having no physiological cause.
Neuromuscular dentistry may be able to provide a solution to your problems and increase the quality of your life.

Neuromuscular Dentistry can help you

Traditional dentistry has always viewed your teeth and jaw bones from a strictly mechanical point of view. We try to accommodate our teeth to our joints. However, the medical community has always known that our skeletal  positions are strongly influenced by our muscles.

Muscle imbalances lead to posture problems which result in muscle and joint pain and cause problems that can be debilitating (runners knee, tennis elbow, carpal tunnel, lower back). Our head and neck region is no different.

No matter how our teeth are positioned, our muscles will struggle to create a comfortable bite. If our tooth position is improper, our body will be unsuccessful in accommodating, leading to the myriad of pain complex problems listed above.

We may be able to help you if you are suffering from any of the above symptoms or a number of other symptoms, such as:

  • headaches
  • neck, shoulder or back pain
  • painful and stuffy ears and dizziness
  • difficulty opening your mouth
  • pain behind your eyes
  • difficulty swallowing
  • numbness in your fingertips
  • clenching or grinding your teeth

What can be done?

An initial two-part examination is performed in our office. Using subjective and objective data, we can identify problem areas that we may be able to treat. Additional information may be required including models of your teeth, 3-dimensional x-rays of your joints and photographs.

Since 90% of headaches and facial pain are muscular in origin, our first phase of treatment is to repair your mandibular (lower jaw) posture with the aid of a low frequency TENS unit and a clear orthotic (splint) worn on your lower teeth. In time, your pain complex is relieved and your quality of life improved.

Then what?

Once we have reached this stage, long term prevention is required. For most people, no further dental work is needed. For others, a permanent change in tooth position is achieved through neuromuscular orthodontics or full mouth rehabilitation.

We have a number of treatments available for TMJ disorders. When you come in for a consultation, we will help determine which TMJ disorder treatment is best suited to fit your needs.

For more information on TMJ treatments contact our office and make an appointment.