Many people have come to believe that jaw pain is just a fact of life. Well, we’re happy to be the ones to give you the good news: TMD and TMJ pain are treatable! Our practice offers a range of treatment options that can alleviate your symptoms for the long-term. Greene Street Dental is dedicated to using technology for the benefit of our patients (such as intraoral scanners to develop your custom night guard), and we hope to help you get there by thoroughly understanding your struggle with jaw pain, your habits, and your long-term goals.
It’s easy to wake up on the wrong side of the bed if you regularly sleep poorly and your jaw hurts from teeth grinding and clenching. If jaw pain has developed into a temporomandibular disorder (TMD), then you may be experiencing other quality-of-life issues, too. For example, constant clicking and grinding in your jaw can wear on your peace of mind and sanity. It can make eating and talking an absolute chore!
If you’re suffering from TMJ pain or other symptoms of TMD, you have options. During your dental exam, our general dentist can assess your symptoms and habits to determine the cause and the proper treatment.
When you clench and grind your teeth during sleep, you are harming your teeth and gums. Not only is the enamel wearing away (never to be replaced), but you are making your teeth more vulnerable to cavities and your gums more inflamed. Over-the-counter night guards aim to remedy this by simply placing a rigid or flexible piece of flat plastic between your teeth. Not only is this uncomfortable, but it may worsen the strain on your jaw as you clench to keep them in place.
Custom dental night guards are made to be more comfortable and to adhere to your teeth completely. Not only can you sleep without worry that they’ll fall out during the night, but they can be fitted to pull your teeth and jaw into position, so you sleep better and alleviate pressure on the teeth and TMJ.
Our office uses state-of-the-art technology in-house to design your custom night guard. Using our iTero intraoral scanner, we can take precise measurements and create a mold of your teeth without ever having to stick a goopy mold in your mouth and send it off.
Injectables using the botulinum toxin, while they have made a name for themselves in the cosmetic industry, have many powerful therapeutic uses. For example, injections supervised by our dentist can reduce inflammation in the jaw and relieve symptoms of TMD.
Our SoHo office is equipped to provide injections for TMD sufferers. We can reduce TMJ pain and other symptoms over the course of your treatment.
If you grind your teeth, there’s probably a larger reason. Our dentist can help you investigate to determine if it’s something they can help you correct. For example, if you grind your teeth because of discomfort from a malocclusion, then we can design a treatment plan through Invisalign to correct your bite.
If you’re grinding your teeth due to stress or sleep issues, we can create a custom night guard that will help to pull the pressure off of your teeth and jaw. As a result, you sleep better, feel better, and finally experience relief from TMD.
The temporomandibular joint (often called the TMJ) is a tiny, sliding hinge joint on either side of the jaw. It’s responsible for a great deal of movement and flexibility, so when it gets injured, you experience symptoms like clicking, grinding, pain, and difficulty opening or closing the mouth.
We can treat these other common causes of TMD with one of our general dentistry services and support you in making habit changes that might improve your symptoms:
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