Trouble With Jaw Pain? Talk To A Dentist
Today, we would like to share a story with you about a patient who lived with excruciating pain in her face for six years.
Spoiler alert: She’s feeling much better now.
We want to explain how our team at Beaumont Family Dentistry was able to help. If you are in a similar situation, we would love to help you, too.
When any patient comes to one of our three dentist offices in Lexington, we don’t want you to just feel comfortable while you are with us. We want you to be as pain-free as possible in your day-to-day life, too.
If you or someone you know is suffering from frequent jaw or face pain, you may be experiencing a TMJ disorder, and we may be able to help.
Carrie’s Story
Carrie suffered some nerve damage years ago. She went to various places seeking relief from the pain that had become far too common in her life.
After years of looking for help, she came to the dentist for a filling. Dr. Takacs spoke to Carrie about TruDenta®, a treatment program to help people who are suffering from TMJ problems and related symptoms, such as migraines and other headaches, jaw and face pain, and neck and shoulder pain.
In case you are wondering, TMJ is short for temporomandibular joint. This is the joint that allows you to move your jaw up and down when you eat or speak.
Carrie came to our office once a week for 12 weeks. We looked at the range of motion in her jaw. We analyzed her bite. We started her on a rehabilitation therapy program.
At the end of her treatment, her pain was gone. Maybe more important, Carrie’s pain has stayed gone years later.
If you’d like to hear Carrie’s story in her own words, click here.
What Is TruDenta®?
TruDenta® Rehabilitation Therapy is a treatment for TMJ disorders and related problems.
TMJ problems can develop for a number of reasons, including arthritis, injuries, infections, bite misalignments, and bruxism. Bruxism is clenching or grinding your teeth.
With TruDenta®, we take a comprehensive approach to treating your symptoms as well as the underlying cause of your problems.
Symptoms of TMJ disorder can include:
- Frequent headaches
- Jaw pain
- Facial pain
- Neck and shoulder pain
- Earaches
- Limited movement in your jaw
- Temporary inability to open or close your jaw
- Clicking or popping sounds when you open or close your jaw
We will conduct a bite analysis to see if this is contributing to your problem. We also will examine the range of motion of your jaw.
We will get a history of your headaches. How often do you have them? When are you most likely to have them? How long have you been dealing with them?
We will examine the muscles in and around your jaw to see if you may have trigger points that are contributing to your problem.
TruDenta® is a multi-faceted approach to eliminating your problem and the pain that comes with it.
During your treatment, we will use a combination of in-office and at-home treatments. These can include electrocurrent, low-level lasers, trigger point therapy, and ultrasound therapy. At home, you may use cold packs, lotions, medicine, and relaxation techniques.
If bruxism is a factor in your TMJ, we can create a mouthpiece to prevent you from grinding your teeth at night.
We also do force balancing based on your bite analysis. The purpose is to even out the pressure you put on different parts of your jaw when you close your mouth.
Why It’s Important To Us
Unfortunately, movies and television shows would lead you to believe that dentists like causing pain. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Our goal is to provide care with as little pain as possible or without causing any pain at all. Our TruDenta® treatment for TMJ disorders and symptoms takes that a step further.
Not only are we trying to prevent you from experiencing pain during your basic dental care, we also are trying to take away the pain you may be feeling for other reasons.
Dr. Takacs learned about TruDenta® because she cares about our patients and wants all of them to feel better. That includes Carrie, you, and the rest of the patients who visit Beaumont Family Dentistry offices in Lexington.
To learn more about TMJ or TruDenta®, call the office closest to you or click on the name of that office to make an appointment with our online form.