One of the dental services we provide here at Trillium Dental in Ottawa is neuromuscular dentistry, which encompasses a wide range of pain relief treatments for patients who are suffering from a misaligned jaw. Our neuromuscular dentistry procedures involve the correction of misaligned jaws by relaxing the facial muscles and providing long-lasting jaw alignment solutions for our patients. But how exactly do we do this?
HOW IT WORKS
As previously mentioned, neuromuscular dentistry is a type of dentistry that aims to correct misaligned jaws and treat the painful complications that come with them. Often, misaligned jaws are a product of bruxism, a condition involving excessive teeth grinding, or temporomandibular joint (TMJ) dysfunction, a disorder classified by persistent jaw pain and inhibited movement. At Trillium Dental, our neuromuscular dentists can help these patients and alleviate their symptoms by:
- Relieving pain and draining lactic acid from facial muscles by relaxing the surrounding facial muscles with a transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulator (TENS) unit.
- Identifying the condition, disease, or temporary ailment in question, as well as the optimal occlusion (where the facial muscles should be).
- Taking measurements of the mouth using our Myotronics K7 system in order to make a custom orthotic, which corrects the misaligned jaw over time.
- Repositioning and retraining the jaw according to the optimal occlusion using the custom orthotic, or mouth guard.
- Eventually eliminating painful symptoms.
As a family dental clinic, we provide gentle, comprehensive dental care for each of our patients — especially when it comes to neuromuscular dentistry procedures. The process of correcting a misaligned jaw is one that cannot be rushed, so we work with your oral and facial makeup to realign the jaw as naturally and painlessly as possible. The process we use is safe, comfortable, and non-invasive with long-lasting pain relief as the end goal.
SIGNS YOU MIGHT NEED A NEUROMUSCULAR DENTISTRY TREATMENT
Neuromuscular dentistry is only used to provide pain relief and corrections for misaligned jaws and several other conditions of the face and oral cavity, so it’s important to know the signs to look for when seeking treatment. Signs of a misaligned jaw include:
- Frequent headaches and/or migraines
- Persistent pain in the neck, jaw, and face
- Difficulty chewing or speaking
- Facial muscle spasms
- Toothaches
- A cracking or clicking jaw
- Lockjaw
- Ringing in the ears
- Numbness and tingling in the fingertips
It is important not to ignore these signs if you start to notice them, as they can be an indicator of a greater issue such as a misaligned jaw, TMJ dysfunction, bruxism, or a similar condition. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, give your local neuromuscular dentist a call immediately so they can give you the pain relief you need and make a long-lasting, if not permanent jaw correction.
CHOOSE TRILLIUM DENTAL FOR YOUR NEUROMUSCULAR DENTISTRY PROCEDURE
Our dentists at Trillium Dental have treated many patients who suffer from misaligned jaws, and we can provide you with a safe neuromuscular dentistry procedure so you can get back to living a normal, pain-free life. Give us a call today, visit our dental clinic in Ottawa, or request an appointment online!