If you are grinding your teeth or experiencing some other irregular function in your jaw, the problem could be part of a larger issue. To find out if you could benefit from a TMJ treatment, call Newingham Dental Center at 248-972-8720 to book a free consultation (and even a complimentary second opinion!) with our professional and caring team.
At our Birmingham, MI dentist office, we offer a wide range of services to help you and your loved ones maintain healthy and beautiful smiles. But we also offer some treatments that you might not expect from your dentist.
Our office has been serving Birmingham, MI and other surrounding communities for over four decades. In that time, we have served a lot of patients and continued to grow our skills as dental professionals through continuing education courses. We are proud of our ability to care for your smile and your jaw and offer many other services as well!
So making time to visit the dentist doesn’t have to add to your already stressful life, we offer some extended hours that many other dental professionals do not. We open as early as 7:00 a.m. so you can get appointments done and out of the way before you head to work or drop the kids off at school. We also offer late evening hours.
We also accept a variety of payment options so you can cover the cost of your care in the way that suits you best. We even accept third-party financing through CareCredit.
Let Your Jaw Rest And Work Normally With TMJ Treatment
TMJ, an abbreviation for “temporomandibular joint,” is just the fancy scientific term for the extremely complex joint that connects your bottom jaw to your skull below your ears. If you’re skeptical that this joint is so complicated, try moving your bottom jaw side-to-side and forward-and-backward in addition to up-and-down. That’s a big range of motion!
Because this joint is so complex and a TMJ disorder can affect people in various ways, it is difficult to say precisely what causes TMJ troubles. That said, it is widely agreed that the following problems may contribute to or make TMJ disorders worse:
- Arthritis
- Stress
- Failing dental restorative dentistry treatments
- A misaligned bite
- Trauma to the jaw and/or surrounding structures
Partially because TMJ disorders are so complex, you should see a specialist and avoid trying to diagnose yourself. Some of the most common potential symptoms of a TMJ disorder include:
- Teeth grinding and/or clenching
- Clicking, popping, grating, or other similar sounds in your jaw when chewing or talking
- Suddenly feeling as though your upper and lower jaw are not fitting together properly
- Pain, tenderness, or discomfort in your jaw, neck, face, shoulders
- Difficulty opening your jaw wide, like when you are eating or you have to say “ahh” for the doctor
- A jaw that gets “stuck” open or closed
If we do determine that you are dealing with a TMJ issue, we will take a precise impression of the inside of your mouth so we can create a custom oral appliance. These look a lot like athletic mouthguards but are made to shift the position of your jaw and prevent tooth grinding.
By slightly shifting your jaw, your oral appliance will prevent involuntary behaviors that hurt your jaw joint. It will also allow your jaw to rest and heal. A lot of patients only need to wear their TMJ treatment while they are asleep, but in more severe cases, we may recommend that you use one during the day as well.
Regardless of when we recommend you wear your TMJ treatment, we will create your oral appliance using very detailed impressions, ensuring it will fit comfortably and work well.
To help you feel relaxed when you are in our care, we offer a variety of comfort options to help put you at ease. Here are just a few of the amenities you can advantage of at our Birmingham, MI dentist office:
- Warm blankets
- Soft pillows
- Complimentary beverages
- Free WiFi
- Flatscreen TVs in every care room to entertain and distract you
Stop putting up with the pain and discomfort of a jaw that isn’t working properly. If you’d like to get an evaluation to find out if a TMJ treatment could stop your teeth grinding and other jaw issues, call Newingham Dental Center at 248-972-8720 to book a visit. You can also use our handy online form or swing by our Birmingham, MI dentist office in person to schedule.