TMD Treatments

Serving Chicago and surrounding areas

According to the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), more than 10 million Americans suffer from Temporomandibular Joint Disorder (TMD). More women than men seem to suffer from it, with a high prevalence of onset during pregnancy.

TMD is a misaligned jaw joint (and bite) and is the primary focus of neuromuscular dentists. At the Colonial Dental Group, our LVI-trained dentists can diagnose and treat TMD. LVI is the Las Vegas Institute for Advanced Dental Studies, and is the preferred school for post-graduate dentistry education. As LVI graduates, our dentists are highly qualified in neuromuscular dentistry and will be happy to examine your teeth, jaw joint, and bite for evidence of TMD.

What is TMD?

It is an incorrect bite, a misaligned jaw joint. When the upper and lower teeth come together, they are meeting incorrectly, so that teeth are bumping each other and causing premature wear and tear. In efforts to bring the teeth together correctly, the jaw muscles become chronically strained. Inflammation builds up. Several large nerves run through the facial, jaw, neck and shoulder areas, with many branches. The inflammation and swelling puts pressure on nerves, which registers as pain. TMD symptoms can be very painful, especially the headaches.

The jaw joint is a ball-and-socket joint which you can easily feel by placing a finger in front of each ear and opening your mouth. It is a delicate joint in that it can relatively easily be knocked or pushed out of alignment. It’s also the most flexible joint in the body, as it can move not just up and down, but sideways and forward and back as well.

TMD Symptoms

Many people suffer from TMD symptoms for years without knowing. The chronic pain sends many to a succession of medical doctors, who prescribe various painkillers. That helps with the pain but does not address the problem.

The most common symptom is severe and chronic headaches. Others are:

• Neck and shoulder pain
• Facial pain
• Popping or clicking of the jaw joint
• Pain while eating or talking
• Tinnitus or ringing ears
• Earaches
• Limited range of motion of the jaw
• Numbness or tingling in the hands

Each TMD case is individual and you may have any combination of these symptoms, and perhaps others not on the list.

Steps in TMD Treatment

The goal of TMD treatment will be to establish your jaw in its correct, relaxed position. This will eliminate all pain and symptoms.

The first step is to determine the jaw’s relaxed position. It may have been many years since the jaw was relaxed and the jaw muscles unconsciously hold it in a tense position. By testing the jaw muscle electrical activity and movements, and recording the jaw joint sounds, we can gather a lot of data. We also use a TENS unit with small electrodes which deliver mild pulses of electricity to relax your jaw muscles. Your neuromuscular dentist can analyze all the information, examine your teeth and gums, and determine how best to approach jaw joint correction.

The second step is to plan the treatment sequence. This will be entirely customized for your particular case of TMD. Just as all TMD cases are individual, so are all TMD treatment plans.

Your treatment options

Your neuromuscular dentist may recommend any of these:

• Use of a custom-made orthotic to retrain the jaw muscles. This would be worn at night and would cut down on unconscious teeth grinding.
• Temporarily changing your eating habits. You might be better off avoiding a lot of crunchy or hard foods, so as to reduce the stress on your jaw while it undergoes treatment
• Dental work to improve your bite. A misaligned jaw joint creates a misaligned bite, which can in turn cause misaligned teeth. It can work in the reverse order too: misaligned teeth cause a misaligned bite, which throws the jaw joint out of alignment. A hard tissue laser can slightly recontour some teeth to make them fit better with the opposing teeth. You might even need orthodontic work, in which case we might recommend Invisalign, depending on the exact nature of orthodontics needed. Sometimes a crown can make the difference by providing a new shape and new surfaces for a tooth.
• In some cases, surgery is indicated to correct the jaw joint. There is a cartilage pad that cushions the two bones as they move against each other – the small ball on the end of the lower jaw (mandible) and the socket in the skull. This pad can be knocked out of position by a blow to the head or by prolonged misalignment. That leaves the bone surfaces rubbing against each other which is very painful.

The first step in alleviating your pain is to determine what is causing it. That process is begun by you coming for an initial TMD treatment consultation with one of our neuromuscular dentists. Please give us a call our TMD treatments office today if you would like to schedule one. We will be happy to greet you, show you around our comfortable facility, and answer your questions. We serve the whole Chicago, IL area.