TMJ Therapy
If you are struggling with a TMJ disorder, Jason R. Doucette, DMD and his team can help you get relief. Dr. Jason Doucette is one of the preferred TMJ therapy providers in Northern Nevada and is conveniently located in the Reno/Sparks area. After an initial complimentary consultation with Dr. Doucette and his team, Dr. Doucette will assess your condition and help you get answers about the cause and severity of your TMJ disorder/symptoms. By using a combination of therapies and technologies, Dr. Doucette and his team will work with you to treat and improve the functionality of your jaw. Call (775) 358-1555 to schedule your initial complimentary TMJ consultation appointment in Sparks, Nevada with Dr. Jason Doucette and his team. Dr. Doucette looks forward to meeting you.
Medication and Referral Management – A Multidisciplinary Approach
To alleviate your symptoms and discomfort, Dr. Doucette may recommend the use of muscle relaxers, preventive medications or anti-inflammatory medications.
To help you get proper treatment for your TMJ, we may advise that you work in-conjunction with other qualified health care professionals, like sleep physicians, chiropractors, physical therapists and radiologists.
Therapeutic Injections and Jaw Manipulation
To maximize your TMJ treatment results, we may use different modalities to release muscle tension and optimize the movement of the jaw.
- Spray and Stretch is a technique that uses cold therapy on the skin to improve mobility while stretching the muscles.
- Hot and cold therapies can be used to relax muscles and decrease inflammation.
- Manual pressure on trigger points allows for myofascial release of spasms and tightness.
- TENS stands for Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation, and is used to relax the muscles, which decreases pain.
- Manual manipulation of the jaw joint can guide the TMJ disc into its proper position.
- Dynamic decompression and stabilization are used to guide the jaw into movements to deprogram muscle memory and then stabilize it using an intraoral device, such as an orthotic.
- Therapeutic injections can include administering local anesthetic to create volume in the superior joint space above the disc, thereby promoting an opportunity for disc recapture.
Imaging and Neuromuscular Computer Analysis
Dr. Doucette uses computerized tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to detect anomalies and damage in both soft and hard tissues. By using these diagnostic images, Dr. Doucette can evaluate joint position, posterior-superior joint spacing, cervical displacement, and alterations.
Oral Appliance Therapy
Based on Dr. Doucette’s comprehensive evaluation and images from the computer analysis, Dr. Doucette may recommend a daytime and/or nighttime orthopedic repositioning appliance (oral appliance) to treat your TMJ disorder.
These devices do the following:
- Realigns the mandible to maintain the proper posture of the condyle within the mandibular fossa which is determined by the muscles, the way the teeth come together and the joint itself.
- Re-establishes joint space by decompression of retrodiscal tissue, which causes inflammation and pain.
- Establishes and maintains proper condyle-disc relationship that eliminates the anterior disc displacement causing the movement of the condyle into the posterior-superior position.
- Stabilizes the bite to decrease the adverse effects on the teeth and supporting structures caused by joint pathology, clenching and grinding.
- Hold the lower jaw in a specific three-dimensional position nightly to create “tone” in an unstable or collapsible airway while providing relief in the TMJ joint space while sleeping.
How is this Different from a Night Guard
Night guards are created to protect the teeth while sleeping. It allows the teeth to rub against the plastic night guard, rather than against other teeth. Custom orthopedic TMJ appliances are used to hold your jaw in a specific three-dimensional position determined by Dr. Doucette and his team after a comprehensive evaluation of your symptoms and TMJ dysfunction. It is not designed to alter the bite, but after the TMJ has been stabilized, healed, and remodeled, you may notice a slight change to your bite. (Dr. Doucette will discuss this process at length with you before and during your course of treatment.)
Dr. Doucette and his team at Caffaratti Dental Sleep Solutions look forward to helping you live a more comfortable and enjoyable life.
Our office offers medical billing for TMJ treatment. Please give us a call at (775) 358-1555 for more details.