Treatment of Temporomandibular Disorder (TMD)
What are TMJs?
Let's start with the basics. Your TMJs, or temporomandibular joints, are located directly in front of your ears. Shaped like triangles and lined with a disc-like cartilage, they help your jaw open and close as you speak, eat, and drink. Consider them the hinges that connect your jawbone to your skull.
What is TMD?
Temporomandibular Disorder, or TMD, is a single term that represents a range of disorders affecting the jaw muscles and the temporomandibular joint. Because TMD can carry with it a multitude of varying symptoms, patients often mistake it for other conditions. If you are experiencing one or more of the following symptoms, you could be suffering from TMD:
- Headaches or dizziness
- Neck, shoulder, or lower back pain
- Tingling of extremities
- Difficulty hearing, or pain, ringing, or pressure in the ears
- Pain, tenderness, or swelling of the face
- Clicking, popping, sticking, or locking during jaw movement
- Limited ability to open the mouth wide
What Causes TMD?
The temporomandibular joints are extremely sensitive. They are affected by alterations in the teeth and jaw, as well as changes in your overall well-being. No one has been able to prove definitively what causes TMD, but the following factors put you at risk or could be aggravating the problem:
- Physical, emotional or psychological stress
- Improper bite or missing teeth
- Braces
- Trauma, such as whiplash
- Bruxism, commonly known as teeth grinding
- Sports Injuries
- Increased Aging of the Bite
- Treating TMD with Neuromuscular Dentistry
Dr. Sutter is an accomplished neuromuscular dentist, and one of thefew doctors in the Salem area to use an in-office K-7 and Tek-Scan. The K-7 system is a sensitive diagnostic instrument that performs,electromyography, joint sonograms, and computerized mandibular tracking, giving Dr. Sutter a clear and precise evaluation of your joints, range of motion and muscles. The Tek-Scan is a thin sensor that you bite into. It allows Dr. Sutter to see if the forces of your bite are even or if they need adjustments. These advanced diagnostic tools allow Dr. Sutter to determine if you have TMD and the degree to whichyou are affected.
Treating patients from all over Oregon, he takes a unique approach actively blending dentistry techniques with physical therapy and osteopathic medicine. After a complete diagnostic work up, Dr. Sutter will devise a treatment plan specifically for you that include one or more of the following:
- Muscle ultrasound (deep heating), relieving soreness and improving mobility
- Massage to invigorate blood flow to the joints and energy to the muscles of the jaw
- Low-level laser therapy to increase ATP (fuel for muscles) and blood flow to the muscles
- Corrective dental treatments to align bite and balance biting surfaces
- Custom oral appliances to reposition the jaw and stop nighttime bruxism (teeth grinding)
- Good posture and relaxation techniques
You don't have to live with the pain of TMD. Dr. Sutter can help relieve you of the nagging symptoms associated with TMJ disorders. Call our Salem, Oregon office for an appointment and feel good again. Your whole body will thank you!
Frequently Asked Questions
The Facts about TMD, Headaches, & Neuromuscular Dentistry
ABOUT TMD
Temporomandibular Disorder, or TMD, is a single term that represents a range of disorders affecting the jaw muscles and the temporomandibular joint.
TMD AND MIGRAINE HEADACHES
Though you may have been living with headaches for years, you might not know that they can be triggered by Temporomandibular Disorder, or TMD.