OUR TREATMENT PROTOCOL

In many conditions, a special designed orthotic is necessary to retrain the compromised tissues. The lower anatomical orthotic (looks and fills like a night guard), we advocate, is a specialized dental appliance that is orthopedically designed to match the physiologic function of the patient’s jaw and head posture. This orthotic promotes tissue healing in much the same way as a cast allows a broken bone to heal.Constant stabilization of dysfunctional tissue systems results in restoring them to functional patterns. The metabolic abnormalities are eliminated and therefore the pain is relieved. Once these tissue systems are restored to normal functional patterns, there are several options available to the patient to maintain long term stability and pain relief.At this point, nothing permanent is done to alter your teeth or your bite. You would wear this appliance for a period of time to make sure the new bite position is correct before any consideration would be given to permanently altering your bite.

After initial examination, if it’s necessary, we will initiate physical therapy treatments. The focus of physical therapy for temporomandibular disorders is relaxation, stretching, and releasing tight muscles. Physical therapy is an especially important part of recovery from TM joint injury.