TMD Treatment

Phoenix, Scottsdale and Payson, AZ.

As qualified neuromuscular dentists, Drs. Chris and Patrice Winterholler can follow up on any TMD diagnosis and give you customized TMD treatment. Because each TMD case is unique, each TMD treatment plan is also unique, devised for you alone. Many people have suffered from TMD for years without realizing what the cause of their pain and discomfort was, so TMD treatments are very welcome to our patients, and always reduce or eliminate their pain.

For more on TMD, please see our Neuromuscular Dentistry page.

Pain Relief

Part of the TMD diagnostic process is pain relief, using the Myo-Monitor and K-7 Evaluation System. Diagnosis involves finding your relaxed jaw position and the treatment goal is to make that position permanent.

How that will be done is what constitutes your treatment plan. Dr. Winterholler will discuss the options with you and explain how they would work. One option is to continue wearing your orthotic for a while longer to more firmly re-train the jaw muscles. If you have had TMD for years, the jaw muscles have old movement habits that are sometimes hard to change.

Dental Work for Your Bite

One way to possibly make it easier to change the old jaw habits is to recontour some of the teeth. If tooth alignment is incorrect, it can throw the jaw joints out of alignment and this can actually be a cause of TMD. Dr. Chris or Dr. Patrice can remove small amounts of tooth enamel from strategic locations without affecting any tooth structure and this can make your bite more comfortable.

Tooth bonding is another tool to improve your bite. It uses a white malleable substance to add to a tooth’s shape or size, improving the way it meets its opposing tooth. The bonding material is hardened with a curing light once it is correctly applied.

If a tooth needs more significant reshaping, a porcelain crown might be the best option. That will provide a complete set of new surfaces for the tooth and add to its shape or size wherever more volume is needed for your bite. Our CEREC system can complete your dental crown procedure in one visit, as it makes use of a dental laboratory unnecessary. We can mill your crown right here while you wait.

There are other potential components for your TMD treatment plan, such as home use of a TENS unit (Myo-Monitor) to relax recurring jaw, face, neck or shoulder tension, physical therapy for that same purpose, and orthodontic work if the teeth are more severely misaligned. Whatever seems best for your treatment plan we will provide – or refer you to another health professional who can provide it.

Both Dr. Chris and Dr. Patrice have LVI training (Las Vegas Institute for Advanced Dental Studies) in neuromuscular dentistry. LVI is a world-class center for post-graduate dentistry training and at Winterholler Dentistry you are in safe, skilled hands if you need TMD treatment.

To learn more about TMD, please contact our neuromuscular dentistry office today and we will schedule a personal consultation for you.