TMJ Treatment in Austin

While these are the most common causes of TMJ disorder, we may never know what has caused your jaw dysfunction. The critical thing to know is that regardless of the cause of your TMJ disorder, Oral Appliance/Night Guard therapy has proven to be highly effective in shifting (gradually moving) your bite into its optimal position.

When your jaw joints are not in their optimal position, they are stressed with having to work too hard to allow your jaw to move in the three directions necessary to function: side to side, front to back, and up and down. The temporomandibular joints are the only joints in the body that move in all three directions.

Wearing an oral appliance while you sleep will gently move your jaw into its best position, and your oral appliance will prevent you from grinding and clenching your teeth at night, a habit known as “bruxism.”

Splints are also used to prevent excessive tooth wear, tooth mobility, and loss of gum tissue. Dental splints are very helpful for the majority of patients with TMJ disorder dysfunction. However, a small percentage of TMJ disorder sufferers who have tried to use the oral appliance (night guard) may need a more sophisticated orthopedic appliance to relieve their jaw joint issues.

TMJ laser therapy is utilized to ease discomfort, pain, and inflammation of the jaw and surrounding muscles. Laser therapy for TMJ treatment helps to replace, regenerate, and repair the damaged cells that are causing your painful TMJ disorder symptoms.

Low-level laser therapy is an innovative TMJ treatment offered only at a select few neuromuscular dentistry practices in Austin, TX. Barton Oaks Dental Group is one of the few.

When low-level laser therapy (LLLT) is applied to the affected areas, it increases blood flow to reduce cellular waste from building up in the stressed joints and muscles of the jaw. This process is called “angiogenesis”; “neovascularization” is the medical term that refers to the formation of new capillaries and other blood vessels necessary for healing and restoring proper function in and around the temporomandibular joints.

The complex process triggered by TMJ laser therapy in Austin, TX, removes damaged cells to break the cycle that is creating chronic inflammation in your TMJs. The treatment decreases the amount of oxidative stress, which, in turn, promotes cell survival while reducing damage to cells.

Low-level laser light therapy also releases and increases cytokines, natural anti-inflammatories that promote tissue repair. Low-level laser therapy also decreases “pro-inflammatory” cytokines and prostaglandins to reduce pain.

TMJ laser therapy is precisely targeted using light energy for deep penetration of tissue surrounding the temporomandibular joints, providing instant relief from the many painful symptoms of TMJ, especially headaches.