“TMJ” as I have discussed before can encompass a lot of different things. I am going to hit some of the highlights of the most common things I see in my practice that can fall under the diagnostic heading of “TMJ Disorder.” Disorders of the joint itself Disorders of the muscles in the head/neck Neuropathic…
I get this question a lot from patients that land in my office. Don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of dentists that want to and have a specific interest in treating jaw dysfunction, but many dentists have NO INTEREST! Do you want to know why? Me too! I think there are a lot…
Jaw popping is a prevalent and common condition. There are a number of reasons why a jaw may start popping- almost all of those reasons are trauma related. It can be a big trauma- like an accident (car accident, hit to the face, falling on your chin) or can be microtrauma (orthodontic treatment, clenching/grinding your…
In my first years as a practicing dentist, the only real tool I had in my tool belt for helping patients with “TMJ,” clenching their teeth or grinding was a good old fashioned “night guard.” If you have been to the dentist at regular intervals and are an adult, maybe it has been suggested to…
As a practicing general dentist, seeing thousands of patients over the past eight years, I honestly can’t tell you how many of them make a passing remark about a doctor, dentist, or chiropractor saying they had “TMJ.” Even now, when I tell people I am doing a “TMJ PRACTICE”, they will say “Oh Yeah, I…
