Do you experience swelling, tenderness, or aches around your face and jaw? If yes, then you probably have a TMJ disorder. It is one of the most problematic joint disorders in the human body. Luckily, there are several ways to treat TMJ disorder. One of the most common and effective treatments for TMJ Plantation is splint therapy. The use of splints is often the first step in treating patients with TMJ as it helps your dentist determine your correct bite alignment. Additionally, it prevents the wearing down of your teeth due to excessive pressure in your jaw or mouth.
How Does Splint Therapy Work?
Prevents Teeth Clenching and Grinding
TMJ disorder is not a rare condition. However, the severity may vary from one person to another - some may feel extreme discomfort, while some don’t even know they have it until they were diagnosed. As soon as you’re diagnosed with TMJ, it’s imperative that you undergo splint therapy. When you wear TMJ splints, you provide your ligaments and jaw muscles a moment to relax. More so, splints prevent you from clenching or grinding your teeth because they serve as a barrier between your upper and lower teeth.
Solves your Overbite or Underbite Problems
Aside from teeth clenching or grinding, splint therapy is also known to address overbite or underbite problems. TMJ splints work by reducing pressure on your jaw. Likewise, it aims to reposition the angle of your bite to the correct position. As soon as your bite alignment is corrected, you’ll no longer feel the pressure or tension in your jaw.
Types of Splints
TMJ splints are divided into two types – repositioning splints and stabilization splints. The former are splints meant to correct bite misalignment while the latter is designed to prevent teeth clenching and grinding. Repositioning splints are often worn the entire day while stabilization splints are usually worn at night.
Where to Get Splints for TMJ Plantation?
While splints are ideal solutions for managing dental problems such as bite occlusion or bruxism, it’s important that you resort to other dental treatments if you have severe dental concerns. Dentists may recommend other treatments like oral surgery. Schedule an appointment with Oral Facial Reconstruction and Implant Center to know whether TMJ splints can solve your problem!