Neuromuscular Dentistry
San Diego, California
Part of the expansion and improvement of dentistry in recent years has been the flowering of the field of neuromuscular dentistry. It is typically not taught in dental undergraduate school. Dr. Loye is a graduate of the Las Vegas Institute for Advanced Dental Studies (LVI), where both cosmetic dentistry and neuromuscular dentistry are intensively taught.
TMD (aka TMJ)
This extra training has qualified him to diagnose and treat the painful condition popularly known as TMD or TMJ. These acronyms stand for Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction (or Disorder). It is a misaligned jaw joint, also called a bad bite and malocclusion. A person’s occlusion is the way their upper and lower teeth come together. A malocclusion is an incorrect jaw positioning, where the teeth rub or bump on each other. TMD can make speaking, chewing, swallowing and facial expressions uncomfortable and can make yawning and laughing painful, even impossible.
The jaw muscles try to close the mouth in a way that doesn’t bump and wear the teeth, which leads to chronic pain, as well as other symptoms, and makes TMD the third largest health problem in the United States. Fifteen percent of TMD disorders are thought to be genetic and the other 85% are acquired. Some estimates suggest that 20% of Americans have TMD symptoms although they may not know that their symptoms have a dental cause.
The jaw joint
The jaw joint is in front of the ear. It’s a ball and socket joint, with the lower jaw moving within a concave space in the skull. Between those two bones is a cartilage disc which acts as a shock absorber and prevents the bones rubbing against each other, which would be very painful. In a healthy jaw joint, as the mouth opens and closes, the disc stays in between the two bones.
In a damaged or misaligned jaw joint, the disc may be out of position, or the two bones may not be properly meeting, or the angle of movement in the lower jaw may be abnormal and strained. TMD can be caused by a blow to the side of the head, or by chronic teeth grinding, or it may be inborn. Every case is different.
Symptoms of TMD
- Headaches, often severe
- Neck and shoulder pain
- Ringing in the ears, hearing loss, ear stuffiness, congestions and ear pain
- Sensitive or sore teeth
- Jaw pain, difficult or painful chewing, and difficulty opening and closing the mouth
- Numbness or tingling in the arms and/or hands
- Jaw clicking, popping or grating
- Limited jaw movement, including locking of either the open or closed jaw
- Depression
If you have some of these symptoms, they may have this dental cause, rather than a medical cause. It’s worth visiting a neuromuscular dentist to rule out TMD. If it turns out to be TMD, relief will be nearby, because one of the first things done is a gentle stimulation of the jaw, neck and shoulder muscles which will relax them. This may be the first time in years that they’ve been relaxed, and with that relaxation comes pain relief.
Please contact us if you would like to have a free consultation with Dr. Loye about your painful or puzzling symptoms. He will be able to tell you if TMD is a possibility, and you could schedule full testing to determine that for certain. We offer neuromuscular dentistry treatment to residents of San Diego, California, and have vastly changed the lives of those who had thought they had to just live with their pain.
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The Dentist that Makes You Smile!
3830 Valley Center Drive, Suite 702
San Diego, CA 92130
