If You Want to Fix Your TMJ, Ditch the Mouthguard
Your dentist asks if you grind your teeth at night, and you sheepishly admit, “It’s possible.” So, per your dentist’s instructions, you dutifully go to the store and buy a night guard. But when you wake up in the morning after using it, your jaw feels sore—as if you’ve been chewing gum all night. After months of this, you don’t feel any better. Sure, you’re not wearing down your teeth as much, but now you have worse problems.
This is because a night guard can never fix TMJ issues. At best, a mouth guard is a band-aid. To address the underlying issue, you need to consult an expert in dental health.
Dr. Nora Balota has years of experience treating TMJ issues. She is committed to the highest standard of care, and she collaborates with local specialists to deliver the best treatment for her patients. If you visit our office in Colorado Springs with concerns about TMJ health, you can expect a four-step process.
1. Assess
When you come into Balota Family Dentistry, the first thing we do is discuss what health looks like for you. We’ll make models and photos of your teeth and talk through what your ideal bite would look like. With 3D imagining we can give you a holistic picture of dental health.
There’s nothing more powerful than seeing your own teeth—how they function, how they look. This is an empowering moment, placing the decision-making power back in the patient’s hands. Armed with a better understanding, you can make an informed decision about your own dental health. We practice minimally invasive dentistry, which means that we do the least invasive treatment possible. Once we have assessed your starting place and agreed on a good destination, we’ll be able to chart a course together.
2. Align the Jaw
Once you have decided to treat your TMJ dysfunction, it’s time to address jaw alignment. The jaw bone is meant to be at rest in the socket. Essentially, when you bite down, all your teeth should touch at the same time, and your jaw should be all the way in the socket. When there is a discrepancy between all your teeth touching and your jaw being in the socket, grinding happens.
We treat this with a Maxillary Anterior Guided Orthotic (MAGO). This appliance fits your top teeth like a night guard, allowing your jaw to go where it’s comfortable. Unlike a night guard, however, the MAGO is made from a very hard plastic that is precisely fitted to your teeth. While a soft mouth guard often leads to worse jaw pain, the hard plastic mimics your teeth’s natural firmness.
3. Adjust
Once you have decided to treat your TMJ dysfunction, it’s time to address jaw alignment. The jaw bone is meant to be at rest in the socket. Essentially, when you bite down, all your teeth should touch at the same time, and your jaw should be all the way in the socket. When there is a discrepancy between all your teeth touching and your jaw being in the socket, grinding happens.
We treat this with a Maxillary Anterior Guided Orthotic (MAGO). This appliance fits your top teeth like a night guard, allowing your jaw to go where it’s comfortable. Unlike a night guard, however, the MAGO is made from a very hard plastic that is precisely fitted to your teeth. While a soft mouth guard often leads to worse jaw pain, the hard plastic mimics your teeth’s natural firmness.
4. Restore the Teeth
Once the jaw is aligned, it’s time to re-establish the genetic tooth form that was present before your teeth started wearing down. We accomplish this by putting back what was lost on your teeth. Sometimes the discrepancy is too big to do with fillings and crowns, in which case we make new models and proceed from there.
This may sound like a daunting process, but we want you to know that it is an effective one. So many patients have visited us in pain and discouragement, wondering if their dental issues could ever be fixed. We’re happy to report that when they finish their treatments, they have a jaw that works properly and a brand new smile. We have the utmost confidence that you will experience the same relief.
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