Posted on June 30, 2010 in Practice News, TMJ/TMD
TMJ Pain Relief Through Myotronics
Just returned from the Myotronics 44th anniversary seminar in Seattle. This is one of the great programs of the year with lectures given by the leading neuromuscular dentists in the country. There is so much information to take home from this seminar that will make people’s lives better. Myotronics pioneered the use of mild electrical stimulus to treat dental patients that were experiencing TMJ and facial pain. The importance of the role muscles play in occlusion has become widely recognized in recent years. The myomonitor allows for gradual relaxation of the muscles and restoration of normal blood flow and the washing away of waste products responsible for pain. Myotronics is also the manufacturer of the K-7 unit which is used to scientifically determine where a person’s most comfortable bite relationship is and can be verified with electromyography or muscle tracking. All of their products assist us in gaining pain relief for so many people that experience daily TMJ pain, migraine headaches, shoulder and neck discomfort, ringing in the ears, chewing difficulties and facial pain. Additionally, we now know that TMJ problems can be associated with sleep breathing disorders which can be life threatening. It is so great that we can reduce many of these problems, often eliminating pain, changing people’s lives and even giving them a good, healthy night’s sleep.
Posted on June 7, 2010 in Practice News
I just returned from the annual meeting of the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine in San Antonio, Texas. It was really an international meeting with presenting dentists and physicians from around the globe. New ideas based in clinical research were shared in helping people who suffer from snoring and obructive sleep apnea and are unable to tolerate the CPAP machines. Obstructive Sleep Apnea is a major problem in the population and can cause severe medical complications often times resulting in death. Fortunately, there is help available with oral appliance therapy which can be a “lifesaver.” Continuing education is a wonderful thing. It keeps us informed of new options to help our guests.
Posted on June 1, 2010 in Practice News
Last week, I went to a terrific seminar with one of the pre-eminent neuromuscular dentists in the world, Dr. Clayton Chan. The program was limited to 20 dentists from the United States and Canada. They were all high level clinicians dedicated not only to dentistry but to relief of chronic head and neck pain. The program was dedicated to optimizing the technique to finding the most comfortable bite for each individual patient. This benefits the TMJ patient in that it allows us to obtain quicker pain relief and maintain a level of comfort. Neuromuscular dentistry is an evolving science that is delivering wonderful results to many people that have unable to find adequate pain relief from TMJ discomfort and headaches.
