Neuromuscular Dentistry

Teeth when aligned beautifully adds clarity and aesthetics to the smile. It not only enhances your smile's appearance but also ensures good oral health. Misalignments in the morphology of your jawbone can lead to bite issues and other jaw-related problems such as TMD. The cause of such misalignments many. It could have arisen due to bad habits such as thumb sucking, prolonged bottle feeding during childhood, dental injuries, impacted teeth, poor dental health, or airway obstructions (mouth breathing).

What is neuromuscular dentistry?

Neuromuscular dentistry focuses on treating jaw misalignments and thereby alleviating the painful symptoms of TMD (temporomandibular joint disorder) and the muscles of the jaws.

The role of a neuromuscular dentist is to determine the optimal position of the jawbone by using computerized instruments that'd help understand the degree of correction required to realign them. This would improve jaw movements and muscular activities.

Diagnosing Your Condition

As you visit our practice, the source of your excruciating jaw pain can be easily identified through computerized analyses. The neuromuscular dentist would carry out a series of tests to determine the root cause of the jaw pain as below:

Sonography - A sonography test can determine the extent of jaw vibrations experienced as the patient opens and closes his/her mouth thereby identifying the point of jaw dysfunction.

Electromyography (EMG) -An electromyography tracks jaw muscle movement. An EMG can identify structural defects of the jaw joint.

Jaw tracking (electrognathograp) - This test gives a three-dimensional analysis of the movement of the mandibular.

Treatment

Be it problems affecting your jaw joint, the muscles around it, or the position of your teeth, neuromuscular dentistry can help address them. A neuromuscular dentist would develop a treatment plan based on your case to correct bite abnormalities.

ULF-TENS - An Ultra Low-Frequency Transcutaneous Electrical Neural Stimulation relieves muscle pain and spasms. Treatment involves using electrodes on the jaw, neck, and shoulder areas. The muscles of the jaws would be allowed to relax by transmitting a mild electrical stimulation.

Bad bites can be rectified by using oral appliances such as TMJ splints, mouth guards, etc.

Request an appointment with Dr. Tognotti for your neuromuscular dental consultation by calling our office at (925) 934 2066 or by placing an appointment online.