San Diego Neuromuscular Dentistry, Neuromuscular Dentistry , Dental Doctor and Surgeon

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Neuromuscular Dentistry

Neuromuscular dentistry (NMD) is the term applied to techniques that expand upon the traditional mechanical approach to dentistry. To understand it, you must know something about your occlusion.

Your occlusion is the way that your upper and lower teeth fit together. The muscles of your head and neck posture your jaw and hold the lower teeth close to the upper ones. You don't consciously hold your jaw in this position - it is ''programmed'' in your brain.

Common symptoms that occur when teeth, jaws and muscles are in conflict include:

Headaches
Loose teeth
Worn, chipped, or cracked teeth or fillings
Clenching or grinding
Ditched root grooves
Pain or clicking and popping in joints
Shoulder, neck, and back pain
Numbness in arms and fingers
Pain behind the eyes
Facial pain
Difficulty swallowing
Pain and sensitivity in teeth
Crowded teeth
Receding gums
Ringing or congestion in the ears

We utilize a number of sophisticated instruments in our practice of neuromuscular dentistry to find the position of the jaw where the jaws, teeth, and muscles operate in harmony.

The first goal of neuromuscular dentistry is to find the position of the jaw where the muscles are relaxed and at rest. This is a three dimensional position in space and is often irrespective to the position of the teeth.

We utilize a device called a Myo-Monitor to relax the muscles. It is a low frequency T.E.N.S. (Transcutaneous Electrical Neural Stimulation) unit. This device delivers a mild electrical impulse to the muscles that move the jaw. The rhythmic pulsing (once every 1.5 seconds) relaxes the muscles. In addition to relaxing the muscles, it sets up ideal muscle function by increasing blood flow, flushing out toxins. We often find that after 45 minutes of stimulation, the muscles are in their ideal position.


At this point we utilize the K-7, our computerized diagnostic equipment to record this position and transfer it to casts or models of your teeth.

The Computerized Mandibular Scanning Unit utilizes a magnet placed in front of your lower front teeth and a sensor array to measure and record this ideal position in three dimensions.

The Eight Channel Electro-myograph is used to verify that this new position results in decreased muscle activity. Muscle activity is measured by recording the amount of electrical activity in individual muscles.

Sonography is another parameter that is measured by our K-7. A set of sensitive microphones that look like headphones are worn over the joints. These measure joint sounds, pops, and where they occur in the opening and closing of the joints. These sounds can then be analyzed with respect to frequency which allows evaluation of joint damage.

Once we have verified the comfortable position of the lower jaw, we can fabricate an orthotic that allows the jaw to close to this ideal position. In this position, the muscles are at an ideal length and will not go into spasm. Muscles will heal, pain trigger points will go away, and joint capsules will heal. This orthotic is left in place for three months to stabilize the bite and insure that all symptoms are gone.

At this point a decision is made to wear the orthotic indefinitely, have orthodontics done to move the teeth to this ideal position, have one or two arches of teeth restored, or to adjust the bite to this ideal position. For more information on neuromuscular dentistry, please contact our office.

Brochures:
Our Brochure: | 1 | 2 |
Self-Diagnosing Myofascial Pain Dysfunctioin: Here
Treating Myofascial Pain Dysfunction: Here

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We are specialized in San Diego for veneers, white fillings, metal free dentistry, invisalign, laser dentistry, painless treatment, cleaning, laser gum cleaning, laser fillings, no shot dentistry, zoom, tooth whitening, smile makeover, smile enhancement, white teeth, no shot dentistry, no shot fillings, metal free crowns, instant orthodontics, clear braces, sleep dentistry, stop snoring and sleep apnea.