TMJ Therapy Treatment at Wing Dental Center with an Alignment First Protocol
Your TMJ disorder and your misaligned bite (occlusion) are not isolated to your head and jaws. Accommodation to an imbalanced occlusion travels down as far as your feet.
Studies show that the force and timing of your bite will alter how your head and neck align. ²⁻⁵ With this information we have developed an “Alignment First Protocol” to address all of the structural chain from teeth to toes.
TMJ Pain Affects the Entire Body
Your Occlusion, Your Bite
How you bite is important to the overall balance of your body. Alterations in your bite has effects that travel all the way down to your feet.
Hips, Back, Shoulders
We are all one active, kinetic body. Strain in one area affects all areas. To reduce strain in your bite we must look at hip, back and shoulder imbalance and strain.
Head and Neck
How your teeth bite affects your head and neck alignment and vice versa. Coordination between Health Care Providers can be key to effective management and reduction of structural stress.
TMJ Therapy Process
We will discuss possible options to treat your TMJ Disorder (TMJD) after a thorough consultation. During the consultation, we may take a Cone Beam CAT Scan of your jaws, jaw joints, airway and neck to assist in any diagnosis or treatment options.
1.
Functional Rebalance of Occlusion
A 1-hour appointment to improve the balance of your bite using a digital occlusion analysis system (called the T-scan) and micro-adjustments to begin to eliminate bite strain in clenching and chewing.
2.
Diagnostic Testing
3-hour appointment to assess jaw and neck muscle activity, jaw movement, and joint function. Along with physiotherapy provided by Ultra Low-Frequency T.E.N.S. a more healthy bite starting position can be determined.
3.
Orthotic (TMJ Dental Appliance) Insertion
A 2-hour appointment that will balance your new orthotic to your bite. Includes 1-hour U.L.F. T.E.N.S. therapy and T-scan guided adjustments to a ‘Natural Fit’ dental orthotic.
4.
Follow Up care
As your jaw structure begins to heal and improve its function and balance, and as your posture improves, adjustments to your bite and/or your orthotic will be required to continue to provide balanced support.
Beyond The Bite
Functional Rebalance
Shaping and balancing your teeth with the biometric system ’T-Scan’ allows for initial strain reduction and can speed up following therapy.
Hips, Back, Feet
Bio-mechanical therapy with accompanying exercises and stretches begins to regain structural balance and reduce muscle strain.
Head Neck Balance
Determining and capturing a healthy balanced bite position for your new orthotic.
NUCCA Chiropractic Therapy
Upper cervical alignment is key in our protocol of treating chronic pain. It is a gentle directed pressure to reduce twisting in the first two vertebrae. ¹⁰⁻¹²It is NOT the same as full spine chiropractic therapy but is often described as massage like vibrations behind the ear. NUCCA therapy is important to balancing your bite. Head and neck alignment and tooth contact are intimately connected.
Healing TMJ Disorder with a Dental Orthotic
The dental TMJ appliance we use, The Natural Fit Orthotic™, rebalances the upper and lower jaw position to your improved posture.
Your bite may be balanced on your natural teeth with the ‘Functional Rebalance’ but a dental orthotic will correct the discrepancy between your lower and upper jaws’ function. The orthotic is a simple, non-surgical method of balancing jaw function.
After you’re balanced
Once you have reached your best balanced posture and bite, it is up to you to continue with therapy as required.
This may mean choosing the correct health care provider in our team to see as you go about your life. Therapy costs will be discussed by each individual health care provider.