WHY TRADITIONAL TMD & TMJ TREATMENTS ARE PROBLEMATIC

Make no mistake — there are substantial causes for concern with the way TMJ / TMD treatment and face pain treatments are predominantly handled by today’s health care industry. We must first understand that many doctors have not been trained to properly diagnose TMJ pain and face pain or treat their root causes . But why is this?

Only in recent years has modern medicine been able to show that a very large percentage of TMJ problems and face pain conditions are actually the result of neuromuscular force imbalances. This new understanding of pain and the body has made neuromuscular rehabilitation possible. However, these TMJ treatment options are still not widespread as most physicians do not yet have the requisite training and experience.

There appears to be no no hurry to focus on newer treatment options in medical school, either, and big pharmaceuticals couldn’t be happier. Until now, the protocol for such conditions involved two primary treatment approaches; medicate with drugs to mask pain symptoms, or surgically intervene with the hope of achieving long-term TMJ pain relief.

Drugs can provide temporary relief but neither over-the-counter pills nor prescription painkillers eliminate root causes of TMJ pain or face pain. Stronger drugs like prescription narcotics also add health risks and the potential for negative side effects. Surgery can be even more problematic. What if surgical intervention fails, or makes things worse? Clearly there is a real need for effective TMJ treatment and face pain treatment options.

IS NEUROMUSCULAR REHABILITATION A TREATMENT OPTION FOR YOUR TMJ OR FACE PAIN?

Absolutely. Drugs and surgery are no longer necessary for most TMJ and orofacial pain cases. Even though the treatment paradigm for TMJ and orofacial pain in the greater health care industry is not shifting quickly enough in response to the newer advances, New Jersey Headache Relief Center already offers these breakthrough treatment protocols.

Getting diagnosed by Dr. Ekstein at NJHRC is the first crucial step. Exposing neuromuscular force problems that cause TMJ pain and face pain can lead to customized rehabilitation that could end your TMJ pain or facial pain.

Listed below are explanations of some of the rehabilitation & treatment modalities we use at NJHRC to successfully treat TMJ / TMD and face pain conditions:

Trigger Point Treatment

Manual massage techniques have proven quite effective in treating TMJ pain and orofacial pain conditions. Massaging the sub-dermal pockets of tension and pain (trigger points) can immediately reduce pain symptoms and any associated muscle tension.

The goal is to break up those knotty trigger points in the muscles of the face, head, neck, and shoulder areas. In fact, chronic tension, headaches, and migraines have all been known to accompany TMJ and face pain conditions. However, increasing blood flow to the appropriate areas can go a long way towards eliminating all of these painful problems. We also seek to reduce inflammation with trigger point manipulation because it helps the body to naturally heal.

Alpha Stim Technology

Cranial Electrical Stimulation (CES) is used in pain patients to push low-level electrical signals into the muscles. The Alpha Stim device used in this office is capable of delivering a microcurrent with a unique waveform that interacts with the bioelectricity in the body. The result is that the TMJ pain or face pain patient will experience a reduction in pain intensity and frequency.

Electrical stimulation is an good choice for the treatment of TMD / TMJ and face pain because the electrical signals reduce muscle spasms that cause pain while reducing referral pain into other parts of the body. Electrical stimulation ‘scrambles’ pain signals that get transmitted to your brain and will promote the desired nerve stimulation.

Beneficial Soundwaves

Ultrasound technology emits sound waves into the musculature, and using it provides multiple benefits to the TMJ pain or face pain sufferer. In fact, ultrasound has proven successful in treating chronic pain conditions of many types.

Ultrasound is not noisy and does not hurt you.  In fact, it feels quite pleasant.  Most patients characterize the feeling as warm — like getting a gentle muscle massage.  Ultrasound also helps return circulation to sore and strained muscles through increased blood flow and heat application.

With sound waves we can penetrate under the epidermis to our desired depth and treat the appropriate locations. This makes ultrasound a versatile treatment option in TMJ pain and face pain patients — all without any need to physically penetrate the skin.

Cold Laser Technology

Cold laser technology is a treatment modality often used by NJHRC to rehabilitate trigger points in TMJ pain and face pain patients. Cold laser is used to treat trigger points with red light photons, or infrared. The photons work on the hard and soft tissues of the body to encourage rapid and thorough healing.

Low-level cold laser offers multiple benefits to those who suffer with TMJ pain or face pain.  Cold laser reduces both pain and inflammation, which is exactly what we want to achieve.

Cold laser is also a good choice for TMD / TMJ and face pain because it promotes the reconnecting of critical neurological pathways.

Bite Force Realignment

Rehabilitation orthotics are an important part of our TMD / TMJ treatment protocols, as well as our treatments for face pain. At NJHRC we understand that long-term success is the goal, and TMJ pain relief or face pain relief is much, much easier to achieve when using rehabilitation orthotics.

The muscles of your head, neck, face, teeth, and jaws can become strained, strained and imbalanced over time.  Harmony must then be restored and the dysfunction eliminated through neuromuscular rehabilitation.  That’s where rehabilitation orthotics come in.

Dr. Ekstein employs various TMJ treatments to rehabilitate you, but uses a rehabilitation orthotic to make the progress stick.  Occlusal adjustments will be needed to configure this device over your course of treatment.  The adjustments are needed to achieve the optimal positions for the muscles.  We need your head, neck, face, teeth, muscles and nerves all working perfectly in tandem — the way nature intended them to!

These breakthrough treatment protocols for TMD / TMJ and face pain are only offered by trained and experienced neuromuscular dentists.

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DON'T LET TMJ / TMD OR FACE PAIN CHANGE YOUR HABITS!

The right TMD / TMJ treatment of face pain treatment could change everything. TMJ and face pain can force you to alter everyday behaviors like your eating habits, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Imagine eating a bowl of your favorite crunchy cereal, or biting into an apple, or chewing bubble gum — all without excruciating jaw pain!

Dr. Ekstein at the New Jersey Headache Relief Center uses new examination and diagnosis protocols to get to the heart of your TMJ or face pain.  In one office visit we precisely measure the bite force distributions of your mouth and jaw, measure your range of motion limitations, and palpate the muscles to expose pain triggers and their root causes.  Once known, the root causes for TMJ and orofacial pain can be eliminated for most sufferers.

NJHRC always looks to eliminate root causes for TMJ and face pain, regardless of symptomatic pain manifestation. In this way you, long-term TMJ and face pain relief is possible.  In fact, most patients stand to be largely if not completely free from TMD / TMJ pain or face pain in 12 weeks or less.

Call 844-Head-8-Dr for Appointments

Get a TMJ or face pain diagnosis from Dr. Ekstein at NJHRC now and get to the bottom of your pain. Long-term pain relief may be just around the corner!

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