Do you grind your teeth at night or clinch them during the day? Do you often get head and neck pain, have sore jaws while chewing, or hear pops or clicks in your jaw joints? Temporomandibular Joint Disorder, also referred to as TMJ or TMD, affects the quality of life and can present itself through symptoms like these.
TMJ is the source of chronic pain for many people. Sufferers experience uncomfortable symptoms such as headaches, neck pain, sore jaws, and broken and worn teeth. These symptoms occur for a reason: an unbalanced bite where the upper and lower jaws meet. Fortunately, treatment is available to restore your optimal relaxed jaw position and alleviate the discomforts of bite misalignment.
Teeth grinding and clinching is a subconscious muscle activity. TMJ sufferers grind without realizing it, until a symptom such as a fragmented tooth, facial pain, headaches or soreness occurs. Left untreated, TMJ can result in severe wear or fracturing of your teeth. Fractured and worn teeth can lead to costly and lengthy treatments.
Neuromuscular dentistry is the science of finding a person’s optimal relaxed jaw position (their correct bite) and then devising treatments to make it permanent, thus eliminating symptoms and discomfort. The most common treatment for TMJ disorder includes wearing an oral appliance designed especially for you.
A custom-made clear, hard plastic appliance that fits over the upper or lower teeth will be designed from models of your teeth. Worn at night, your appliance prevents the top and bottom molars from making contact and alleviates the pressure that grinding causes on the teeth and jaws. With proper treatment your symptoms can be relieved, preventing neck pain, facial pain, and headaches while protecting and preserving your natural teeth.
