Pain and tenderness in your jaw, pain in and around your ear, difficulty chewing, your jaw locking, making it hard to open or close your mouth. Do any of these symptoms sound like you? If so, it’s possible you suffer from temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorder. Dr. Alkhoury, of Brentwood Family offers TMJ disorder therapy.
If you experience any of the symptoms listed above, we encourage you to see us.
Diagnosing TMJ:
- During an initial consultation, Dr. Alkhoury would listen to and feel your jaw while you open and close your mouth. He also observes the range of motion of your jaw and determines the areas around your jaw where pain is localized. This helps him determine the best treatment options.
- We also use JVA (jaw vibration analysis) as well as CBCT (cat-scan) to aid in a TMJ diagnosis.
Treating your TMJ:
- We have an occlusal appliance (mouth guard) created exclusively in our office that we will prescribe. Often, wearing one of these devices over your teeth will help ease the TMJ pain and help keep your symptoms in check.
- Physical therapy: We often find that laser therapy, cold and heat treatment and exercises that stretch and strengthen your jaw muscles can alleviate pain and symptoms.
- Pain relievers, ointments, and anti-inflammatories: Sometimes, if symptoms are mild enough, over the counter anti-inflammatory medication can alleviate symptoms. Also, Dr. Alkhoury has designed a compound therapeutic ointment that will also help the pain and discomfort associated with TMJ.
Don’t let another day go by in pain. If you are in the Brentwood/Walnut Creek area, call Brentwood Family Dental at 925-344-5296 to schedule a TMJ consultation. We are committed to giving patient the highest level of care with our priorities being comfort and quality of life. Let us help you live a pain free life!
