Re: Splint Therapy is Phase 1 of the Correct Treatment for TMJ but Why It Fails for Some Patients

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: : : : Thanks for your quick responds. I went to a Orthodontist, and he suggested that i need a splint (acting like a cushion on my back tooth). But he later said something that puzzled me. He told me that i would have to live with this disorder permanently. I didn't believe him cause i did some research on the web and there is a permanent solution to this. Going back to your responds. You mentioned that i would possibly need a implant because of the bone? Which bone? jaw bone? I thought a crown would do it because my tooth is structurally sound. Thanks for your help. : : : : : : Here is an eye opener for all those suffering with TMJ and confused about splint therapy... : : : : : : First I want to make it clear that splint therapy is Phase One of the Correct treatment for TMJ. However, it must be done correctly to work and there are 3 reasons why I beleive that alot of dental professionals are not doing splint therapy correctly and patients are failing to benefit from it. : : : : : : First, there are those dentists that decided to get into TMJ treatment for the money, let's face it they make a fortune off TMJ treatments, it's very expensive. So they take a few courses at LVI and open up shop as TMJ dentists...the only problem is that they really don't have a solid understanding of what is involved in successful splint therapy or truly understand TMJ so they fail to help the patient in any way, but it doesn't matter because they still got paid and they will continue to as long as desperate patients suffering with TMJ exist. So the patient is left still suffering and has lost alot of money and now is angry and thinks splint therapy is a load of crap and turns away from this treatment, which is the correct treatment, in favor of useless therapies that fail to address the true cause of their suffering. Had they had splint therapy with someone who actually knew what he or she was doing, the patient would have benefited, of that I have no doubt. Another reason why splint therapy fails to help patients is because patients don't understand what it is doing for them and therefore fail to wear the splint fulltime, thinking it's something they can wear when they feel like and take out whenever they want. It's called a splint for a reason, look the meaning up if you don't fully understand it, the splint is serving a very important function in the treatment of TMJ, it's repositioning the lower jaw to the correct position and supporting it there to prevent further damage to the TMJ's, to allow for proper jaw and TMJ function and to hold the lower jaw in the correct position to allow the TMJ's to heal, it is the equivalent of wearing a cast on ones leg for a broken leg. If we were to take the cast on and off a broken leg then the leg would not heal or it would heal incorrectly and the case treatment for the broken leg would be unsuccessful. The splint must be worn full time or in conjuction with a Bionator at night in order for the treatment to be successful. Also the lower jaw must be positioned correctly and the practitioner must be willing to make a new splint if the one he has made is not relieving your symptoms properly. It's a process, not a quick fix, the goal of splint therapy is to find a splint that relieves you symptoms long-term. Another thing people do wrong is that they think that once they are done splint therapy that they can just stop wearing it and continue on and you can't. You must continue to wear the splint fulltime until you complete phase 2 of the treatment, which addresses your bite. For 3 basic reasons you now have to rebuild your bite, whether with orthodontic treatment and reconstuctive or just reconstuctive. First is that your bite was the cause of your TMJ and now must be adjusted to properly support a healthy jaw and therefore joint position, second, even if your bite wasn't the cause your teeth have very likely been worn down and damaged from the dislocation of your TMJ's so your bite must be rebuild to properly support your correct jaw position and keep your TMJ's healthy and 3rd the chances of your ligaments healing or regrowing the exact same length, exactly how they were prior to an injury is very unlikely so your bite now has to be adjusted to support your jaw in the correct position to support the TMJ's in their newly healed position with their newly healed ligaments. Your bite must be exact or a TMJ injury will reoccur because your bite fails to properly support your correct and healthy jaw position. The last reason why splint therapy fails is much more sinister...I believe that there are actually dental professionals out there that intentional fail to treat patients with splint therapy correctly to support research that takes to focus of TMJ off dental causes, because they want to keep the patient in the sick and in the system so that they can make more money off of them or simply to continue this cloak of confusion that hangs over TMJ to continue the cover up of the dental community causing TMJ and not wanting to take responsibility for it. The more they point away from dental factors and patients are chasing non-dental treatments, the easier it is for them to keep their secret. : : : : : : Splint therapy does work and in fact is the only sure way to cure a TMJ condition, at least part of the correct treatment towards a cure, and anyone who says otherwise is either ignorant, confused or outright lying. : : : : : hello, obviously you know what you're talking about. So i'm here for some advice. I broke my lower left second molar (wisdom tooth hasn't erupted yet) several months ago. At first i felt something lifting my left eye. But that's stopped. Now i'm getting headaches, and i feel that my bite is a little off. I'm certain that i have TMJ as a result of the broken tooth. And i'm certain that i need a splint and maybe a crown to support the back tooth as the second phase of the treatment. i'm going to see a TMJ specialist around my neighborhood and don't know what to expect. How would the specialist know the right spint to make? how is it done? Any advice on what to ask would be helpful..thanks. : : : : : : : : First, the symptoms you are describing are TMJ signs. The pressure behind you eye is a very common TMJ symptom and of course the headaches. The back molars play a very important role in supporting the TMJ's and the bite and I believe you are right to beleive you have a TMJ problem and that it is progressing. If these symptoms have just appeared and as you are reporting, with no previous history, it sounds like you are in the early stages of a TMJ problem. It is vital that you see a qualified TMJ dentist as soon as possible because the injury and condition will progress very quickly and the sooner you stop the damage and get the proper treatment the better. : : : : I recommend you see someone that is trained in the Functional Orthodontist philosophy or a neuromuscular dentist, which is basically the same philosophy but I would look for someone that has a lot of experience in successfully treating TMJ patients because experience plays a very important role in successful TMJ treatment. TMJ treatment done wrong will make you far worse then your original condition and could disable you for life to be quite honest, so it is vital that you choose the right practitioner and the right treatment. : : : : Because the TMJ injury and condition is so new and therefore it's hard to determine how advanced it is and the level of injury to the joints I don't want to comment on the treatment you will need but I can tell you that the most important thing you need to do after you find the right dentist is to determine the level of injury to the joints and how advanced the damage to the teeth is. In my opinion I would think they would give you a splint immediately to protect the joints from further damage and to stabilize it to assist the healing. It should be a lower splint if they give you one. Once the lower jaw is positioned properly, if necessary, and the joint is stablilized, you are going to need to address the teeth. The molar should be replaced with an implant based on my research, because if the tooth is not replaced the bone that held it will shrink and you will have problems in the future. The optimum is to maintain your natural teeth and the second best option is to replace a lost tooth with an implant. Again you have to be careful with implants because done wrong they have the potential to cause you further harm. If your TMJ practitioner doesn't do them then I'm sure he will refer you to someone but make sure you check them out before you proceed with treatment. Also it may be necessary to address your other teeth because it's very possible that they have suffered wear and damage from your jaw being unstable and they will have to be rebuilt to stabilize the jaw. I won't go on and on because I don't want to over-whelm you but if I've missed anything please let me know. If there is something I don't know I could find out the answer for you from someone qualified to respond and would be happy to help. The more people getting the correct treatment, the less people suffering and the more people to spread the word about the correct way to treat TMJ. : : : : Kelly : : I'm sorry, I assumed that you had lost the tooth when it cracked. You're correct about needing a crown, rather then an implant, if the root and the partial tooth are still intact, or it's just cracked and is healthy enough to remain. You are also correct in not believing that there is no cure for TMJ, especially in your circumstances where you have not had surgery that has caused permanent damage and especially since your TMJ injury is very recent. Do not believe him because he is dead wrong. The treatment I have described is the treatment that has the potential to permanently cure TMJ, I know this for a fact. Also do not allow anyone who has this belief to lay a finger on you in any way because you do not want someone with this attitude and lack of knowledge about TMJ touching you. You do however need to find someone qualified to treat you as soon as possible as I said to avoid further damage to the joint and to protect it to allow it to heal so your TMJ condition doesn't progress. I recommend that you find someone with as much experience as possible in curing TMJ patients of their pain and symptoms and to ask for references of previous patients that have benefitted from their treatment. I was able to do this is our case and speaking to previous patients in great depth about how they benefited from treatment help me feel safe and that I had made the right choice of a dentist to treat us. Further to this get everything in writing, your diagnoses, the complete treatment plan and the risks and expected benefits of treatment. Anyone not willing to give you this is not the right one for you to trust to treat you. You have a right to understand what they feel is wrong with you and why they are recommending treatment and exactly what they are going to do to you, as well as the expected benefits and risks. You have the right to ask as many questions as you need to to feel safe and secure with what they are doing to you and you have the right to expect to know how you will benefit from it. You are in a very enviable situation from a TMJ sufferers point of view, from what you have told me. You have every reason to expect that the right treatment will cure you of this condition and give you your quality of life back. I have an over-whelming amount of documentation to support that what I am telling you is the truth. From video tapes of dental lectures going back to the mid 90's, to dental journal documents and dental textbooks and then a ton of dental websites. You said that you had already done some research so you may have already found this document but it's one of my favorites so you may want to read it if you haven't already...Occlusion: The Standard of Care at http://www.cda-adc.ca/jcda/vol-67/issue-2/83.pdf . Read it entirely and take note of the reference to Dr. Terrance Spahl's book. This document is found on the Canadian Dental Association website and was written by a dentist that now practices in the US. Feel free to contact me for further info, I am very happy to help. : Thank you again. Í feel better already knowing what to expect when i go see a TMJ specialist. There should be more people like you helping others informed about TMJ. so thanks again