What is Neuromuscular Dentistry?
Neuromuscular Dentistry focuses on the healthy relationship among the teeth, jaw joints, and the muscles of the head and neck. The way that your upper and lower teeth come together is part of the neuromuscular system of teeth.
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A Harmonious Bite
In a harmonious comfortable bite, the teeth, jaw joints, and muscles can work together without strain or tension. The biting surfaces of the upper and lower teeth fit together neatly, and the jaw joints work smoothly. The muscles on both sides of the face are relaxed when you are not chewing or swallowing, and when you chew or swallow, these muscles contract evenly to bring the teeth together.
A Problem Bite
When there is a problem with the bite, the upper and lower teeth dont come together correctly. This often exists when there are misaligned, missing or worn down teeth. In this situation, the muscles must use extra force, and the jaw joints often shift position in order to bring the teeth together. Your jaw muscles may not fully relax when you are not chewing, even though they feel normal to you.
Over time, this can cause muscles and joints to become sore, tired, and stiff. A bad bite, together with tense, strained muscles, can lead to a variety of problems, such as headaches, muscle pain, damage to the teeth or jaw joint, clicking, popping and other symptoms. It can shorten the life of crowns, veneers, and other dental restorations through excess wear.
For more information on Neuromuscular Dentistry, click here
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Diagnosis and Treatment
When we are planning your dental treatment, we'll use specialised advanced equipment to identify problems in the muscles, jaw joints, and bite. If we do find any problems, we may recommend treatments to stabilise your bite.
These may include :
- Wearing a custom bite splint, called an orthotic
- Providing orthodonic treatment
- Placing crowns and veneers on the effected teeth
With the techniques and technologies of neuromuscular dentistry, we can help you achieve a healthier bite, more comfortable muscles and jaw joints, and a beautiful Smile.
In fact, our expertise in this technology has enabled us to successfully treate patients with TMJ pain, headaches, dizziness, and other problems related to the neuromuscular system of the head, neck, face, and jaws.
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Full Mouth Restoration
After the ideal bite is determined, full mouth restoration is individual restructuring of each and every tooth in the mouth. However, rather than doing it tooth by tooth over a long period of time, we are able to do it all at once to achieve ideal bite. It is done in two visits. During the preparation appointment all old restorations and any decay are removed, impressions are made of the underlying healthy tooth structure and beautiful temporary are made. These temporaries are worn until the seat appointment, approximately three weeks later. This appointment involves removing the temporaries and bonding on the final restorations. These final restorations look natural and beautiful - everyone leaves with an incredible smile on this seat day.
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