When you have a problem that strains your jaw joints or if you have a high level of stress in your daily life, you could develop jaw joint issues like TMJ disorder and bruxism (teeth grinding). To avoid discomfort and complications, we can offer a convenient treatment option. In today’s blog, Pacific Hills Dental in Omaha, NE, talks about how we treat TMJ disorder and bruxism with an oral appliance.
TMJ Disorder and Bruxism
TMJ disorder is an issue that occurs when the joints connecting your jaw and skull become strained. This creates pressure linked to painful symptoms, and over time could even impact how you open and close your mouth. With bruxism, you grind and clench your teeth on a daily basis, and again, this could lead to painful symptoms and serious complications. Both can be caused by factors like tooth loss, dental misalignment, injury to the face or jaw, or issues with the development of your smile that causes imbalance and strain. Wisdom tooth eruption could be a factor too!
Symptoms for both include painful tooth sensitivity and toothaches, aches in the face and jaw, headaches and migraines, and a popping or clicking sensation in your bite. Don’t ignore these symptoms, instead see our team right away for care!
Planning Treatment
To begin, we will examine your smile carefully. With an intraoral camera, we will look at the surfaces of your teeth for signs of wear and friction. We then use digital x-rays to look at damage to the teeth and imbalance in your bite. Our team can then assess the presence of TMD or bruxism, and create a custom oral appliance to help. This device will look and fit like a mouthguard!
Custom Oral Appliances
The digital x-rays and images we take of your smile will allow our team to design and custom-fit an oral appliance to be worn while you sleep. The device will fit comfortably and helps shift your jaw to ease underlying stress and strain, providing relief from painful symptoms. The appliance also acts as a soft barrier between the upper and lower sets of teeth, which prevents further damage to them. If you have sustained injuries to your teeth from grinding and clenching, we could offer same-day repair with dental bonding, or discuss treatment with a custom crown if the injuries are more severe.
If you have any questions about how we treat issues like TMJ disorder and bruxism with an oral appliance, or if you have pain in your bite, then reach out to our team today.
Learn More About Oral Appliance Therapy
Our team wants to help treat issues like TMJ disorder and teeth grinding and keep your smile healthy and comfortable. Call Pacific Hills Dental in Omaha, NE, today at (402)330-2243.
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