Excellent dental care for all members of our family and lots of proactive advice, strongly recommend mdt
Headaches when you first wake up, tightness in the muscles of your head and neck, clicking and popping in your jaw joint, limited opening, pain in your jaw joint or difficulty in holding your jaw open are all signs and symptoms of jaw joint issues also known as Cranio-mandibular disorder (CMD).
Sometimes there are tooth related or bite related causes for CMD. Some people, due to personality type, carry out night time grinding (bruxing) and this can create CMD symptoms.
It is a complex area with many schools of thought on management of these cases. After 25 years of treating CMD patients I have a high success rate of successful management and resolution.
Patients often underestimate how painful and damaging CMD can be. In some cases it can be so debilitating that patients are unable to open their mouths or carry on with normal day to day activities.
CMD can be episodic and is often made worse by stress. Discrepancies in the way our teeth come together, the direction our muscles move and the internal arrangement of the jaw joint can all influence the health of this system.
I use occlusal splint therapy, behavioural modification and neuromodulators (botox) to manage these issues.
• You cannot chew effectively
• You have headaches, pain and general discomfort
• If you grind your teeth, the teeth will become sensitive, you will crack teeth and fillings, you may cause the gum to recede and you will wear away the enamel from your teeth
• The muscles around your lower cheek area may become enlarged and painful
• You may suffer from headaches, ringing in your ears and ear ache
ASK DR. DOWNING