Did you know that the position of our bites can cause headaches, pain in the jaw, sore muscles, neck pain, limited range of motion of the neck, upper and lower back pain, poor posture, pressure behind the eyes, stuffy ears, ringing in the ears, grinding teeth, breaking teeth, dizziness, fatigue and more. All of these symptoms can be due to a bite being off by less than a millimeter.
You see the dental system is very unique. It is composed of muscles, joints and teeth. It can play a huge role in the overall comfort and health of a human. 60% of the stimulation to the brain is from the oral environment. The truth is that the human body is an incredibly adaptive structure. Most of our body’s muscles, bones and joints can adapt and function although they are not in the “perfect” position. This is true with the bite as much as with other parts of the body. But when they can not adapt, signs and symptoms not normally associated with what people consider a dental problem may occur.
There have been new technological advancements, which now let us more accurately diagnose and treat health problems, which previously were never associated with dental treatment. This “neuromuscular” approach to dentistry has been used by dentists for over 35 years, but we are now able through advancements in computer technology, to capture information about a patient and treat them more effectively.
Neuromuscular dentistry is a modern advancement based on the understanding that the temporomandibular joints (jaw joints) need to be in an ideal comfortable resting position for the best comfort of joints, muscles, bones and teeth. This comfortable position is based on the guidance of muscles and stabilized by the bite position of both the upper and lower teeth. The levelness of the teeth is also critical. The forces of the bite need to be distributed straight down the body. If the bite is slanted or tilted, the forces will be misdirected. This can cause as much of a problem fro a patient as if the hips were not level or one leg was longer than the other.
We can now measure the electrical activity of the muscles and find the most comfortable position of the mandible (homeostatic or “Happy muscles”). If you find the most comfortable position and restore the patient to that position, they will bite in that comfortable position every time. When that happens they will have homeostasis (“Happy muscles”).
Our treated patients are more comfortable than those treated with old, conventional dentistry and we can prove it by measuring the muscle activity in their new biting position compared to the muscles activity in their old position. We can prove many things using our principles. Our patients’ mandibles (lower jaws) are more comfortable than before. We can actually see the difference in the appearance before and after and we can back this up with recorded and documented data. Our computer programs can show when the bite is less than optimal and contributing to generalized pain and suffering. We can also restore the “old collapsed look” of faces where the youthful distance between the nose and chin has lessened. The result of this restoration of the collapsed area of support is almost like an instant face-lift. Some of the dramatic before and after results are simply amazing.
If our patient’s muscles are not happy, they can be corrected and improved with proper Neuromuscular treatment protocols. Muscles palpation and evaluation confirms no tenderness or trigger points where there were before. Facial appearance and esthetics are improved. The patient presents, as a new and improved human body that is now comfortable and finally realizes what comfort truly means. The bite is created to where the muscles, joints and the teeth all harmonize together physiologically and this is all confirmed with objective data. more |
