03/06/2023
Bruxism and Jaw slimming treatment 🟦
This is one of my most popular treatments!
This patient had treatment to slim his jawline as well as relieving the symptoms of jaw pain due to his grinding/clenching habits.
As a dentist, I see a lot of patients that subconsciously grind and clench their teeth during sleep. Some of the common signs of Temporomandibular joint disorders (TMDs) that I observe are: square jawline, chipped teeth, jaw/teeth pain (especially in the morning), limited mouth opening, clicking joints.
Myofacial pain is the most common type of TMD and it is a descriptive term that refers to pain arising from the TMJ and chewing muscles. It is one of the commonest causes of facial pain after tooth ache!
Signs and symptoms:
- Jaw pain (muscular and or joint)
- Widened jaw (aka Masseter hypertrophy)
- Limited jaw movement
- Clicking/ ‘popping’ sounds
Cause is unknown, although stress, depression/anxiety, often associated with clenching/teeth grinding habits, occlusion problems.
Conservative reversible therapy was defined by the National Institutes of Health as:
- Appropriate analgesia (NSAIDs)💊
- Intraoral appliances (eg stabilisation splints)👄
- Supportive patient education and counselling📝
- Physiotherapy / jaw exercises💆🏻♀️
- Occlusal therapy🦷
These thepiesdfd can be used in isolation/combination.
As there are other TMJ disorders, it is important to see your dentist or GP for appropriate management and treatment. If symptoms persist with no relief through conservative management, referrals are made to TMD/Maxillofacial specialists for further investigations!👌