Dental professional can’t seem to effectively resolve the TMD

TMD is an 80-90% muscular problem

If TMD is an 80-90% muscular problem, than why do many within the dental profession focus so much on the TM joints, MRIs, etc. yet the dental professional can’t seem to effectively resolve the TMD complaints of many folks on this forum? WHY?


Discussion


Jean-Francois Vizier
and TMD is musculo-skeleto-ligamento-dento-neurologic….. pfiuuu, I think I didn’t forget any

Rodney Baier
Dont forget nutrition

Tatiana Gelfand
Clayton A. Chan, dentists have not studied the muscles, they do not know what to do with them, they do not understand how they function and moreover, do not want to know any of this. “Just let me make enough money so I can live the way I want….” Many of them do this already and live happily ever after. Why bother? Any change involves risks and effort. Why doing it if they are sitting in a “warm place” already?

Rodney Baier

What dentists have not studied the muscles?

Clayton A. Chan
Rodney Baier a majority!! The way they diagnosis and treat TMD case proves the point says it all!!

Tatiana Gelfand
IMO, they might have studied the required anatomy but they do not know how this relates to practice!
For example, when I was badly contracted and saw a top TMJ dentist, he said that I have a short lip. I had no space between the upper lip and the nose because I had nearly zero VDO. Now I have an inch (just measured) between them. He might know the theory that there could be a short lip syndrome but he had no clue that if there is no VDO, muscles contract until the CNS can detect some “contacts” (even if they are actually not available) in the mouth.
There is a big difference between saying some statements from books and being able to do the work based on this knowledge.
From my experience, very often dentists say one thing but do another, totally incompatible with what they have said.

Rodney Baier
What is zero VDO?

Aj Joel
I have no idea I know.mine is muscular problem right now I have a huge muscle knot in the right side that has caused me bot be able to work my seconde job and put off work. All mri were normal head neck and jaw spine except for a thinning disk on left side from compensation. I just want my muscles to.relax and can’t seem to get them.to do that 🙁

Marcus Decimus
Aj Joel It sounds like your symptoms mirror mine. Do you have any idea as to what may have caused your condition?

Aj Joel
I had cat accident 4 years ago and suffer from 100% overBite

Aj Joel
My symptoms ate restricted opening ear aches . Inability to chew . Hearing sensitivity . Migrains . Dosnt matter what time I go to bed extremely stiff and tires when I wake up.

Marcus Decimus

Aj Joel I also have an overbite. When you say 100% do you mean that your upper teeth completely cover your lower teeth when you bite down?

Marcus Decimus
Aj Joel does you also suffer from a stiff neck?

Aj Joel
Yes very sore neck

Aj Joel
It yet mri on neck shows normal

Aj Joel

Dr prob think I’m crazy

Tatiana Gelfand
When the jaw cannot close so much that what’s left in the mouth by a dentist will touch.

Rodney Baier
VDO is a relative relationship so I dont understand what is meant by zero VDO

Aj Joel
We are in such a place stuck between medical.and dental. I seen a tmj clinc at the dental.school for a year made my problem worse they gave me a guard with just impressions which they thought were helping my buy contributed to the problem . There intentions were good but did not have technology dr winchair uses. Now because I went to dental school my claim had been denied through autopack . Dating I already received treatment .

Tatiana Gelfand
In order to measure the VDO, a patient has to close the jaw till the teeth touch in occlusion. If nothing can touch, then what is VDO? There is no VDO, IMO. You can’t measure it. So I call it zero. Is there another name for when the crowns were removed, some teeth broken and the patient left without anything possibly touching in the mouth? Let me know if there is a dental term for this mess. Maybe it’s a common practice for dentists, I just don’t know the name for it.

Rodney Baier
If nothing can touch how did you eat?

Maryanne Bunch
We don’t eat, we swallow. Chewing is a luxury that has been removed.

Tatiana Gelfand
Thank you, Maryanne Bunch! I forgot what is eating. 🙂 Somewhat got back to sleeping though after many years.

Tatiana Gelfand
LOL. I wonder why the dentist who created it did not ask me this question! Instead, he said, forget about the teeth and go on a vacation. LOL.
I had to drink and even this was challenging because my throat got into a spasm and I had a “ball” and “two knives” in my throat, could not swallow. The head rotated as well… Sleeping was not much better either.
Had to find a way to survive because I couldn’t die to make him happy and feel safe. 🙂

Rodney Baier
Can I ask why you couldnt bring your teeth together?

Tatiana Gelfand
IMO, there is a certain “normal” height, VDO when the jaw is hung in the joints and the teeth are touching. If you remove all teeth by whatever way, the jaw cannot close too much in a physiologically correct way past this “normal” VDO. It has to either protrude or dislocate laterally. The length of the bony structures do not change. Muscles cannot contract past certain limit. If the dentists insists on touching then one of these dislocations: AP or lateral would take place.
It’s somewhat similar (or reverse in a sense) to sitting in the airplane when there is no place for your legs. You have to either bend them or move sideways, you can’t make them shorter and extend forward if there is no space. Protrusion cannot go indefinitely either because the disc and ligaments will not allow this or will get injured.
There are dentists who understand that the jaw does not close further past a certain level without going out of its normal position and those who do not. That’s from my experience.

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