If you have found this website you most likely have pain or disconcerting noise in your jaw joint. Either you are new to this problem, and wonder what is going on, or most likely you have already been to several doctors/dentists and found, that while they know what the problem is, they do not have a long term solution to your pain. I spent two years in post graduate education [www.facedentistry.org] learning to treat jaw pain patients successfully. I have helped hundreds of TMJ sufferers to complete pain relief and comfort. If your problem is caused by a bad bite, and 99% are, I can help you right away. The treatment is not expensive or time consuming, with no surgery, no drugs, no complicated treatment regimen. If you need help with TMJ pain please read further, to learn what is going on in your jaw, and then call me to cure it.
TMJ stands for temporomandibular joint disorder. The TMJ is a hinge and gliding joint and is the most constantly used joint in the body.
The round upper end of the lower jaw, or the part of the joint that moves, is called the condyle; the socket is called the articular fossa.
Between the condyle and the fossa a disk made of cartilage exists, which acts as a cushion to absorb stress, and allows the condyle to move easily when the mouth opens and closes.
When the teeth do not come together correctly, a dentist calls this a malocclusion. In simple terms malocclusion means that the Condyle does not seat properly in the fossa when the teeth bite. Many people have a malocclusion, and have adapted without pain or awareness of a problem.
Most times a malocclusion appears as a wearing away of the biting surface of the teeth [Flat posterior teeth], also the person may have:
Clicking or popping of the jaw joint
Pain in the jaw joint, or in the muscles of the face, sometimes severe.
Headaches or muscle aches around the temporal area and side of the jaw.
20-30% of the adult population will suffer TMJ pain. This is when the malocclusion leads to pain in the jaw. Think of it as the muscles and ligaments, out of their correct position, being stretched to the point that they are over extended and cause pain. Again this is because the condyle is not seated properly in the fosa, many times causing the disk to be pushed out of its correct protective position.
If a person has pain, the first thing we do is to get the patient out of pain right away. To do this we use a small splint, on the front teeth, to reposition the condyle to a more comfortable position. The pain goes away in a day.
Then we use an orthopedic splint[This looks and feels just like a retainer], to wear at night only, to position the condyle in the fossa in a more stable and permanent way. This cures 99% of all my TMJ patients!!
Rarely the patient may need further treatment to adjust the bite, when this happens I know exactly what needs to be done, and how to go about it to get the patient to complete resolution of the painful problem. If needed, I will use only the best Radiologist, Orthodontist, Physical Therapist in the world to help me.
800 mg,[ four tabs of 200 mg],Ibuprofen twice a day is recommended.
650-342-2777
341 N. San Mateo Dr.
San Mateo CA 94401
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650-342-2777