Do we need to treat non-symptomatic joint clicking?
Do we have to treat every noise or click that we observe in our patients? And the answer is not necessarily. What I am going to say is we always have to go back to the complete examination.
Category: TMD
How to stabilize the joints
If we have a symptomatic TMD patient and are trying to figure out, can we make this patient better or comfortable? How can we stabilize the joints?
What do I do with patients that have TMJ pain?
So what do we do with the patient that has TMJ pain or has TMD? So this is the symptomatic patient now. So kind of what we’ll say is kind of look at maybe a broader swipe and go inside.
Dental Webinar: Is Splint Therapy Always a Safe Treatment Option?
Splints are more than just a piece of plastic you give to patients when you don’t know what else to do with them Occlusal splint therapy can be a great treatment option for those suffering from occluso-muscle disorders and TMD. Given the wrong type of appliance, however, splint therapy can actually do more harm than […]
Dentists: Why do we ask “Has your jaw ever locked open or closed?”
Why do we ask for the patient’s TMJ history as a part of our complete exam? Particularly, why do we ask a history of open or closed lock?
What can TMD have to do with airway?
The question comes up, what does airway have to do with TMD or what does TMD have to with airway problems? And the answer is sometimes there’s very little overlap, sometimes there’s quite a bit of overlap, and sometimes there’s total overlap.
When to use an NTI appliance and when not to
Hi, everybody. My name is Dr. Leonard Hess. I am one of the senior faculty members here at the Dawson Academy, and I would like to take a few minutes to discuss with you when to use an NTI appliance and when not to.
That headache might be telling you something
Millions of people suffer from headaches. It has been estimated that over 50% of them are actually of dental origin. We know from Williams and Lundquist EMG studies, as well as Mansour and Reynik’s work that posterior interferences increase bite forces dramatically and also increase muscle activity of the masseters and the temporalis.
Determining TMJ Health: what to look at during the initial exam
What things do we look at in the initial exam to determine TMJ health and maybe what do we look at periodically to also assess joint health? I think the beauty of this whole process is that the complete examination (taught by The Dawson Academy) and the way it is laid out gives us the […]
Why dentists misunderstand centric relation
The misconceptions about verifying and and using centric relation (CR) are unfortunately all too common for new and even experienced dentists. The myths that are often associated with CR, ultimately prevent patients from receiving optimal care.
Truth About Digitally Fabricated Splints
When we talk about digital dentistry, we are really talking about replacing different aspects of the process from the physical world to computer-coded counterparts. It can be everything from capturing of data with intraoral scans, to the software design process, and then fabrication of the splints using some automated manufacturing device. In my office, I’ve […]
Educating Patients: The TMJ joint (4 different phases of the joint)
Educating patients on dental conditions can be very challenging for many dentists. A complete dentist has even more challenges, especially when it comes to explaining joint conditions with their patients. The complete dentist starts the examination by examining the joint first. Based on what we know, there are four categories or phases of joints that […]
