TMJ Treatment
Dentistry is about so much more than just a pretty smile; our TMJ treatment is just one of the effective ways we prioritize your complete oral health. The TMJ stands for the temporomandibular joint. This joint is the hinge on either side of your jaw that enables you to speak and eat.
In some cases, the muscles around the TMJ can go through excess strain due to injury or jaw misalignment. This excess strain can lead to an uncomfortable condition called TMJ disorder. Our team at Dr. Tex Mabalon Cosmetic & Implant Dentistry strives for premium care that focuses on individualized care and aesthetics. Call our Sacramento, CA, office today to get started.
Understanding TMJ Disorder
TMJ disorder (TMD) can cause a variety of uncomfortable symptoms that might surprise you. These symptoms include the following, but feel free to give us a call if you’re unsure whether the condition is TMJ disorder.
Our dental team is well-versed in oral care treatment across all disciplines. Even if your symptoms don’t lead to TMJ disorder, we are happy to help you find an ideal form of care.
Diagnosing TMJ in Sacramento, CA
Our office diagnoses your TMJ by using a CBCT scanner to get thorough imaging of your jaw. We then partner with a radiologist to get a proper reading of the scans. That means we have two pairs of eyes on your imaging so we can create the best plan for you possible.
During each general dentistry appointment and TMJ consultation, we also conduct a bit and function analysis where we evaluate your jaw joints, muscles, and the positioning of your teeth. This allows for early intervention and prevention of severe issues.
Prioritize Your Well-Being with Dr. Tex
Our office wants to do everything in our power to help our patients improve their whole health and best interests. TMJ disorder can often negatively affect other aspects of your body, so we want to emphasize the importance of understanding and addressing these concerns.
Learn more about some of the long-term benefits of TMJ treatment below.
Improved Digestive System
TMJ disorder frequently makes it difficult to eat and drink without pain. This pain can make it challenging for patients to chew food in smaller chunks, leading to larger pieces entering the digestive system. Effective TMJ treatment allows for proper chewing, easing the burden on your digestive organs and promoting better nutrient absorption and gut health.
Eliminate Neck, Shoulder, and Back Pain
TMJ disorder can create a ripple effect of pain throughout your upper body. The muscles and nerves connected to your jaw also extend to your shoulders, neck, and back. When you are diagnosed with TMJ disorder, it can lead to long-standing chronic tension and discomfort.
Many people suffering from TMJ disorder also find themselves experiencing:
By addressing the root cause with TMJ treatment, we can alleviate the stress on these connected muscle groups. This treatment can lead to a significant reduction, or even a complete elimination, of this pain, which can help you feel more comfortable and mobile.
Protect Your Smile
Addressing TMJ disorder promptly allows us to quickly deal with difficult symptoms as soon as they arrive. Without this support, many patients are vulnerable to unconscious and dangerous habits such as teeth grinding (bruxism) and clenching, especially while they sleep.
These habits add immense pressure on your teeth, leading to:
TMJ treatment goes beyond relieving pain; it actively protects your smile. By addressing the underlying jaw dysfunction, we will work towards reducing and eliminating harmful grinding and clenching. These steps improve your natural tooth structure, safeguard dental work, and maintain the long-term health and aesthetics of your smile.
Care for Restorations
Not only are your natural teeth threatened by TMJ and bruxism, but restorations and other dental work are too. If excessive pressure or wear is placed on dental restorations, they can crack or fall off. Thankfully, we can treat misalignments before or after you have a restoration placed, to ensure longevity of your restorations.
What Comes Next
Navigating the logistics of treatment can feel overwhelming, but there’s no need to worry. Dr. Tex and our dental team will be by your side every step of the way, guiding you to services that help you feel most confident about your smile long-term.
Determining Treatment
We create a plan after a comprehensive exam and a bite risk analysis. We use two approaches to treat your TMJ, depending on the cause of TMJ strain and your health history.
Elevate Your Lifestyle
While controlling pain is vital to long-term development, TMJ treatment can also greatly improve our patients’ physical and emotional state. Whether you recently dealt with TMJ disorder or managed symptoms for years, our dental team actively finds ways to improve our patients’ long-term satisfaction. Here are some of the long-term benefits of TMJ treatment.
TMJ disorder can present itself with many noticeable symptoms. These symptoms, such as jaw clicking and pain, can add apprehension for patients in professional and personal contexts.
TMJ treatment strives to not just fix uncomfortable circumstances, but also to help our patients thrive outside of chronic pain and tension.
Stress and TMJ disorder often form a never-ending cycle. The chronic pain and discomfort from TMJ can significantly elevate stress levels, making daily life harder. Stress, in turn, leads to unconscious jaw clenching and teeth grinding— accelerating TMJ symptoms.
Effective TMJ treatment breaks this cycle, alleviating physical pain and reducing the circumstances that cause tension.
The relentless pain and tension associated with TMJ disorder can be incredibly draining, leading to persistent fatigue. TMD is also a common trigger for severe headaches and migraines due to its close connection with facial and neck nerves.
This treatment helps patients rest better and diminishes the frequency and intensity of migraines.
By addressing the root cause of jaw imbalance, TMJ treatment can significantly reduce pain.
Many patients find that handling TMJ disorder gives them the gift of time, helping them spend more time on thoughtful living than constant pain management.
Our Precise Approach To Dentistry
Our dental team at Dr. Tex Mabalon Cosmetic and Implant Dentistry is committed to changing the way our patients view and act about their oral care. We’re not just another health practitioner—our goal with our clinic is to establish roots within our local community. Here’s the foundation of making that possible.
Each dental consultation and treatment is provided with the highest quality of care and personal attention. We strive to know each patient by name and adapt our framework to meet their needs. Every initial consultation is followed by an entire full-body evaluation, with saliva samples and additional tests, to help our customers feel valued and appreciated.
Our customers in the Arden area come from a wide variety of different health backgrounds. One way that we can create an equitable environment in our cosmetic clinic is through smile makeovers.
Smile makeovers use our comprehensive initial evaluation to expedite your treatment as much as possible. For example, if you have a missing tooth and gum disease, smile makeovers allow us to plan to possibly treat both conditions at the same time. This treatment saves our patients’ treatment time and additional visits to the dentist office.
Preventing TMJ Disorder
Establish healthy habits today by following these steps to avoid TMJ dysfunction. Feel free to give our office a call if you have any questions.
Thorough TMJ Treatment Starts Here
Trust premier dental care that has your best interests in mind in the Arden, California, area. If you are worried about your TMJ symptoms, schedule a comprehensive exam with Dr. Tex in Sacramento.