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An estimated, one in every four Americans suffer from one
or more symptoms of TMD/TMJ disorders. While the majority of sufferers are
women, men, young children and adolescence, also suffer with symptoms. TMD/TMJ
can be difficult to diagnose and treat because the problem often crosses into
several different specialties in both medicine and dentistry. People who suffer
from this disorder have typically visited a variety of health care professionals
-- yet they continue to have problems with their TM joints.
The two TM joints, located on each side of the head in front of the ears, are
the most used joints in the entire body because they work together for chewing,
talking, singing, shouting and swallowing. Muscles attach the bones and joints
that allow movement. Each joint has a small disc that allows smooth movement of
the jaw when functioning properly. When the chewing muscles and jaw joints do
not function properly together, TMJ disorder results. Displaced joints can cause
mild discomfort to severe pain.
HOW TMJ IS DIAGNOSED
To arrive at an accurate diagnosis, we require a health history, a thorough
exam, appropriate x-rays, range of motion testing, joint vibration analysis, jaw
tracking, and other diagnostics on an as-needed basis.
ADVANCED STATE-OF-THE-ART EQUIPMENT: We offer a wide range of diagnostic
methods to identify head, neck, facial and TMJ problems. Each method is used
only as needed in each individual case. These tests might include:
- JVA – Joint Vibration Analysis
- Jaw Tracking Computerized Equipment
- EMG – Electromyography
- Tomographic X-ray Scanning
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