Kingston Neuromuscular Dentistry Glossary

cosmetic dentistry The function of joints and muscles in the position of the jaw may affect the overall dental health. The disruption of musculoskeletal balance can affect your jaws and initiate an untold number of bite and occlusion disorders, jaw pain, tinnitus (ringing of the ears), and popping, clicking or locking of the jaw (trismus). These symptoms can be very inconvenient and uncomfortable, and include chronic pain in the jaw, teeth, face, head, neck, shoulders, grinding of teeth and frequent ear infections.

Neuromuscular dentistry is specifically designed to treat patients with jaw positioning disorders. By treating your misaligned jaw, a neuromuscular dentist may be able to relieve your headaches, neck and shoulder pains and a number of other symptoms related to temporomandibular joint syndrome (TMJ). By using advanced technology, neuromuscular dentists can record jaw movements, and determine the best position for your jaw by measuring the relaxed position of the head and neck muscles. Your TMJ symptoms can be alleviated by moving the jaw into its optimal position.

Neuromuscular dentists use a variety of diagnostic data to determine the etiology of neuromuscular pains. Sonography is used to record jaw sounds and determine the quality and location of sound during jaw movement. Sounds consist of clicking, grinding and scraping. TENSing (Transcutaneous Electrical Neuromuscular Stimulation) the muscles involves flushing out lactic acid and infusing the muscles with fresh blood and oxygen. This reinstates what is supposed to be a normalized state for the patient. Electromyography is used for measuring the accurate fit of the bite, testing to see if an imbalance occurs. The technical monitoring of tension in a muscle enables the dentist to record the chewing muscles, which helps to confirm the adequacy of newly restored or replaced teeth for maintaining normal muscle tension.

When you are diagnosed with TMJ, reconstructive or restorative dental procedures such as coronoplasty and restructuring may be included in your treatment.

Neuromuscular dentistry may or may not be for you, but if you are suffering severe TMJ related pains, neuromuscular basis for this type of pains may prove significantly more worthwhile than other forms of treatments.

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