Hi! My name is Phil, and I’m the Office Manager here at Advanced Dentistry of Collegeville. I have been working with Dr. Silva now for a little over two years. In that time, I have learned so much about TMJ — more than I would have ever imagined. In fact, before I met Dr. Silva, I suffered from TMJ. Did you know there are a variety of ways to fix TMJ? Let me tell you a little bit about my situation first.
I have always had a problem yawning. I could never open my mouth all the way to yawn without having extreme pain in my jaw, or even worse, having my jaw lock. Several times I can remember having to yawn so badly, but because of fear, I would just hold it in. Chewing was a challenge as well. If I were to eat or chew gum for a long period of time, the pain in my jaw would occur. I had forever just thought this was normal, since I grew up with it and my doctor didn’t see any problems. I assumed that this was something I would have to live with for the rest of my life — until I met Dr. Silva.
Like I had mentioned, I began working with Dr. Silva a little over two years ago. She had noticed that I grind my teeth a lot during a routine exam. That is when she began asking me questions about TMJ symptons, many of which I had. At that point, after chatting with Dr. Silva, I had realized I have options to fix the problems I was having. In my case, my teeth were somewhat crowded. This, coupled with my grinding, was causing my TMJ.
We had decided, together, that straightening my teeth was the first step in fixing my TMJ problem. I had decided to do Invisalign (clear braces). I was told I should do braces when I was a child, but declined because I didn’t want to look uncool — a decision I would change in a heartbeat if I could turn back time! I was a tad skeptical that straightening my teeth could fix my TMJ issue, but after seven months of Invisalign, I not only had perfectly straight teeth, but the TMJ had vanished! No more pain when yawning, no more tired jaw when chewing! I wouldn’t call it anything short of a miracle, at least in my eyes.
However, for most people, this is not the way that TMJ is fixed. In our office, we use a machine called the K7. What people don’t realize is that TMJ is the result of very tense muscles in the jaw. Because the muscles are so tense, the jaw tends to be very tight, shifting your bite into a position where it affects other areas of your body, like your neck and upper back, and can trigger things like migraine headaches, and like me, prevent you from being able to yawn or chew.
What the K7 actually does is send small waves of energy to your jaw. Imagine the muscles in your jaw like a tightly closed fist. When the waves of energy are sent to your jaw, it loosens the muscles. So just think of that tightly closed fist slowly opening. Once the muscles are relaxed, then the bite can shift back to where it’s supposed to be. This action can fix many, if not all, of your TMJ issues. Once the bite is where it is supposed to be, an appliance called an “orthotic” is placed to keep the bite where it is.
An orthotic, also known as a bite splint, is a clear appliance that stabilizes the bite. It is not uncomfortable at all, and most times you cannot even notice that it is in the mouth. You are able to function like normal, TMJ free! My advice is that if you are experiencing TMJ problems and feel that it hasn’t been addressed correctly, to give us a call and schedule a consultation. Voice your concerns to Dr. Silva, so that she can formulate a treatment plan according to your situation. I know personally that having TMJ is not a comfortable way to live, so take the first step and give us a call to get it handled once and for all!
