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What is
Neuromuscular Dentistry? To
understand Neuromuscular Dentistry (NMD), it helps to first know a
few things about your occlusion or “bite”. Your occlusion is the
way that your upper and lower teeth fit together. If your teeth do
not fit together properly (misaligned bite), the muscles and joints
accommodate – work to get them together. A misaligned bite often
leads to muscles that are overworked when they should be relaxed,
leading to various painful conditions.
Neuromuscular Dentistry (NMD) is a term applied
to techniques that expand upon the traditional approach to dentistry
and considers the entire system that controls the positioning and
function of the jaw. The neuromuscular dentist seeks to establish a
jaw position based on a harmonious relationship of the three main
factors affecting occlusion,
the teeth, muscles and jaw joints. The
resulting jaw position is called the neuromuscular bite.
Headaches – The Dental Connection
Most people don’t think to mention headaches to
their dentists. Yet, muscle-contraction (tension) headache is the
most common form of headache. It typically results in pain on both
sides of the forehead and sometimes in the neck as well. The
temporalis muscle, located in the forehead and to some extent around
behind the ear, is the muscle group that postures your jaw. A 2007
AGD publication stated that experts estimate that 75 percent of all
headaches are caused by muscle tension, which may be related to the
bite (Academy of General Dentistry
www.agd.org). Simply stated, if your forehead muscles have to
work overtime to properly align your bite, they may go into spasm
which in turn leads to poor oxygenation of the muscle, retention of
by-products of metabolism, and – ultimately – pain.
There are many possible causes of headache.
The Neuromuscular Dentist is trained and equipped to diagnose and
treat headache of muscle tension origin. Non-invasive tests
can establish whether or not muscle tension may be the cause of your
headaches and whether dental treatment might solve you headache
problem. If you suffer more then an occasional headache or
frequently take medication for headache pain, it is well worthwhile
to talk to a Neuromuscular Dentist about it.
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