Referred to our office by her general dentist, this patient was
suffering from a Temporomandibular Joint Disorder (TMJ) that
was causing facial pain and headaches for many years. A
complete examination and Joint Vibration Analysis revealed that
she had a partial disc displacement of her TMJ and was suffering
from the muscle pain associated with having a bad bite
relationship and over worked jaw muscles from clenching and
grinding. Her teeth were badly worn and decayed and needed to
be rebuilt. Restoring one tooth at a time to her existing poor
bite relationship (occlusion), as was her dentist's original plan,
would have resulted in the decay to be gone but her bad bite
would have remained (as well as her jaw pain). The only way to
correct her problems was a full mouth rehabilitation.
We rebuilt her bite relationship to ensure that she had even
contacts, force balance and restoring proper tooth contacts on her
front teeth called "anterior guidance.” From the second day of
being in temporaries, she has never had jaw pain again or had to
wear a splint. Reconstructing her bite relationship was the
necessary treatment that was required for this patient to remain
pain free for many years now. She attests that the best thing she
did was to have her bite rebuilt. The days of her daily headaches are
far behind her, and the magnificent smile she received from
her treatment was the bonus!
