Another aspect of having a tooth pulled out is that upon removal of the tooth, the bite on that side will experience an almost immediate collapse in which the jawbone (condyle) will now go more deeply into the socket. This is where a TMJ problem begins. When that condyle jams further up into the jaw socket, it will impinge on the articular disc that covers the condyle. This can cause a gradual displacement of the disc and subsequent TMJ disorder. If multiple teeth are removed this can readily lead to the discs being pushed way out of proper placement and this can be quite painful for so many people.

With periodontal disease, the bone and gum support around the tooth becomes weaker over time. This can lead to the tooth getting loose in the socket and it can no longer be a good vertical support for the jaw joints. Just like the foundation of a house, if it starts to rot away, the whole house can tip sideways. The jaw is similar. If the teeth become looser due to periodontal disease, this can destabilize the jaw joints and the discs in those joints can become damaged more readily. By maintaining good periodontal support for your teeth, this will help the jaw joints stay healthier and stronger.

Unfortunately, oral cancer should be mentioned in this blog. Cancer in the mouth can lead to loss of teeth and bone which of course can lead to loss of TMJ support. This is why it is so important to keep up with your dentist and at least yearly have them do an oral cancer screening. This screening only takes a few minutes, yet it could save your life and your health. So many people are very afraid of cancer but if detected early enough it is fairly easy to treat.

As Dental Health awareness month is April, be smart and reach out to your dentist about your dental health. Ask questions. Ask if they are checking for periodontal disease. Ask about cavities. And most importantly, ask if they are checking for any signs of oral cancer or other diseases.

The post How Oral Health Affects the TM Joints first appeared on Sleep & TMJ Therapy.

Why is sleep important? When the body does not sleep well, it is far more likely that disease processes can begin. As anyone knows, when your body is just tired all the time, it is far more likely you will catch the flu and infections are far more likely to set in. This is the case with cancer as well. When your body is debilitated from lack of sleep it is easier for cancer to set in.  There is now plenty of research to support this. If you simply Google ‘cancer from sleep apnea’ you will find that with moderate to severe sleep apnea, you are two and a half times more likely to develop cancer and three times more likely to die from cancer. This is a serious statement. What this means is that if you are not sleeping well, you are far more likely to contract kidney cancer, melanoma, breast cancer, and uterine cancer. Even though the risk of lung or colorectal cancers is less, it is just not worth the risk when you do not sleep well. TMJ disorder affects not only your joints but impacts the quality of sleep. A confirmation from UVA hospital’s research is that good sleep has been confirmed to be key to good health. With good sleep, the lymphatic system is regulated, and in turn, helps regulates many immune systems.

So, what is the message of this little blog? The message is to pay attention to your body. If the jaw joints are causing pain – headaches, neck or back pain, or even dizziness and tremors – then pay attention and have it looked at by someone who understands the situation. And this has now opened up another proverbial can of worms: Who do I see? TMJ disorder is so poorly understood that there is no consistency in diagnosis or treatment. So please stay tuned as the next blog will delve into the devious world of diagnosis and treatment.

The post Oral Cancer and TMD- Coincidence or Correlation? first appeared on Sleep & TMJ Therapy.

With the work that we do at Sleep and TMJ Therapy, it is important that we all work together as a team to provide you with the very best treatment possible. When it comes to your regular dentist, this means seeing him or her regularly for the dental cleanings and checkups. Sometimes we have you see them more often – like every three months instead of the normal six months. This helps keep the teeth cleaner and healthier when heavy buildup is present or there are periodontal issues. Since our appliances rest on the teeth, it is imperative that you keep those teeth as healthy as possible!

Another reason for maintaining good teeth and healthy gums is that if you are wearing ALF wires, there will be some degree of expansion of the arches and gaps could open between the back teeth. When gaps open up, it is more important than ever to use floss every day and see your dentist regularly enough. On the back end of treatment, we advise our patients that they may need some of these small gaps closed with a filling or onlay, depending on the situation. However, in most cases, once the ALF treatment is completed, the gaps usually close all by themselves as we notice the teeth moving forward over time. This occurs naturally when the teeth and gums are healthy.

As part of the finishing up of treatment, in some cases, it is necessary for your general dentist to do some crowns or overlays of certain teeth to make them taller. This is sometimes needed with root canaled teeth because they usually will not lift up doing ALF therapy. It is quite simple for this to be done, but much easier if your dentist is kept apprised of your situation during treatment and maintains the bone and gums during the transition process.

So, keep up with those dental cleanings while we work on the TMJ disorder. Your treatment is much easier when a “team approach” keeps things in order!

The post Why You Need Your Dentist While Undergoing TMD Treatment first appeared on Sleep & TMJ Therapy.