How Important Is a Gorgeous Smile?

By Jeffrey B. Brown, MD

Affinity Health Medical Weight Loss

More Sleep Apnea Articles

How Important Is a Gorgeous Smile?

In the world of TMJ disorders, having a gorgeous smile can sometimes be a rare event.  When a person has a TMJ problem, they really do not feel well, do not sleep well, and can be generally quite cranky all the time. Many TMD patients have headaches that do not quit and take medication on a regular basis to control the pain.

At Sleep and TMJ Therapy we can in most cases identify the source of the pain and improve sleep at the same time. When a person has less pain and they sleep better, that is when a gorgeous smile can come through. By taking the time to listen to the patient, get an idea of how long the pain has been there and where it starts and ends, and what triggers it, oftentimes an MRI of the TM joints can figure out if there is a displaced disc causing all that pain and reducing your ability to sleep well. Just a few weeks ago a local dentist came into our office and reported that she no longer takes migraine meds every afternoon. The headaches were gone because she wore an orthotic that we designed for handling the slipped off discs in the jaw joints. Years of pain were gone in just a short time.

When it comes to sleep, a simple study done in the privacy of your own home can help determine if poor sleep is present and can help us to figure out what to do about it. Sometimes if there is really bad apnea, a CPAP is indicated, but in many cases the patient can wear a simple dental appliance that opens the airway very nicely. And in some cases, we can open the airway even more by using laser therapy- it is painless, no anesthetic is needed, and no post op meds are required. Check out this before/after of the tongue and throat after just one session of  laser therapy:

Some new technology that helps put an even bigger smile on your face might be the EMFACE device. What this does is pulse warming energy through the tight muscles of the face to calm down clenching and grinding behavior. But it also relaxes those tight muscles which reduces wrinkles and lines in the face. None of this hurts, there are no injections needed, and the results are immediate. The FDA has cleared the EMFACE for TMJ disorders and one side effect is that the treatment actually reduces facial wrinkles and lines as these muscles learn to relax. It only takes a few sessions to feel and see the results and if you do the EMFACE treatment a couple times a year, it is much less expensive than many other modalities like drugs or surgery.

At Sleep and TMJ Therapy we have listened to our patients. They want to feel better without harsh chemicals, surgery, or medications and we have found that laser therapy and EMFACE meet their needs to give them the gorgeous smile they deserve!