Neuromuscular Dentistry

Sacramento, Roseville, Rocklin, Folsom, and Citrus Heights, California

Neuromuscular dentistry deals with the muscles, joints and tissues responsible for jaw movement. Because your jaw muscles must be in a relaxed position to avoid tension with the teeth and jaw joint, neuromuscular dentists focus on getting your jaw in a relaxed position. If you jaw is misaligned, both the hard and soft tissues are affected. This can cause a number of symptoms including:

• Neck, shoulder and jaw pain
• Headaches
• Tinnitus (ringing in your ears)
• Clicking or popping in your jaw

These symptoms are the result of TMD (temporomandibular joint disorder), also referred to as TMJ disorder. TMD is a chronic degenerative disease that usually takes years to develop. The millions of people who suffer from TMD have an imbalance in the connection between their jaw and skull, caused by a bad bite called malocclusion.

What a neuromuscular dentist can do

A neuromuscular dentist such as Dr. David Miller can realign your bite to help resolve your TMD symptoms. By putting your jaw into its optimal relaxed position, the symptoms associated with this disorder can be relieved.

While traditional dentistry focuses primarily on your teeth and gums, neuromuscular dentistry works with your:

• Hard tissues
• Soft tissues
• Muscles
• Nerves

Dr. Miller recognizes the importance of your muscles (the power source) and your nerves (the controllers) to create the movement of your mouth, and the functionality of your bite.

We use advanced technology to determine if your symptoms are caused by malocclusion and what your optimal jaw position is. Dr. Miller uses computerized jaw tracking instruments to record jaw movement, resting position, and path of closure using the following methods:

• Sonography—used to record jaw sounds, which helps determine sound during jaw movement (clicking, grinding and scraping), and where the sound is coming from
• Transcutaneous Electrical Neuromuscular Stimulation (TENS)—this involves flushing out any lactic acid and infusing your muscles with fresh blood and oxygen, which enables your muscles to relax
• Electromyography—this is the technical monitoring of tension in a muscle, which allows a neuromuscular dentist to record your chewing muscles. This also identifies where an imbalance in your bite occurs.

If you are diagnosed with TMD, treatment options can include:

• Coronoplasty—correcting your bite by reshaping your teeth enamel
• Restructuring—using crowns to raise your teeth, which realigns your bite
• Orthodontics—aligning your teeth and jaw into its optimal position with braces

If you are experiencing any of the above symptoms, please contact our office if you live in the Roseville, California area. Dr. Miller can help alleviate your TMD symptoms and get you smiling again.