When you have a jaw joint disorder like TMJ disorder, or if chronic teeth grinding (bruxism) is damaging your smile, you need treatment to stop discomfort and protect your smile. We can offer a comfortable and noninvasive option with an oral appliance. In today’s blog, your Leawood, KS, dentist talks about TMD and bruxism treatment.
TMJ Disorder
TMJ disorder, also known as TMD, can threaten your oral health and cause major discomfort. The disorder occurs when the jaw joints undergo excessive strain and stress. This leads to uncomfortable symptoms and could even alter how you open and close your mouth. Underlying factors include misalignment, injury to the face or jaw, tooth loss, untreated bruxism, or even issues with the growth of your smile and the eruption of your teeth. Warning signs include jaw and facial pain, a clicking or popping sensation in your jaw, head and migraines, and pain in your mouth, neck, and shoulders.
Bruxism
Bruxism occurs when you grind and clench your teeth on a nightly basis, which places enormous pressure on your smile and leads to a host of complications. This could occur due to the same factors that cause TMJ disorder, as well as high levels of stress in your daily life. The pressure could crack or chip teeth, or even wear them down to appear shorter. Symptoms include toothaches and tooth sensitivity, often due to developing decay or infection. You could also encourage pain in your face or jaw, or aches in the neck and shoulders.
Oral Appliance Therapy
Our team can help with an oral appliance. We will begin by taking detailed images and measurements of your smile from multiple angles with a thin wand, using these to create a 3D impression that allows us to design and craft an oral appliance. The device will look and fit like a mouthguard, and is worn as you sleep. The device actually shifts the jaw to ease stress and strain on your bite, and places a barrier between the upper and lower teeth to prevent further damage. This helps ease the symptoms of issues like TMJ disorder and bruxism. The oral split is also easy to use, clean, and store, and it can travel with you easily.
If you have any questions about our comfortable and noninvasive solutions to issues like TMD and teeth grinding, then contact our team today to learn more. Don’t live with discomfort and damaged teeth, talk to our team about a solution.
Do You Have Any Questions About Oral Appliance Therapy?
We want to help you enjoy good oral health and avoid damage to your smile. Call Dreem Dentistry in Leawood, KS by calling (913)681-5500 to learn more about our custom oral appliances.
