Dr. Brian Hale's San Antonio Cosmetic Dentistry Blog

Two dental words that bring up feelings of dread and anxiety, but wait I bring good news! What could possibly be good and what do they have in common you might ask?

First let me assure you that the old memories of a ‘metal-mouth’ being the only option with orthodontic treatment are long gone. Today we treat virtually all of our orthodontic cases with the Invisalign system; you know those clear Aligners that you wear for two weeks at a time over the course of several months. Not only will your orthodontic treatment be faster, more comfortable, and invisible compared to traditional braces, but you no longer need to alter what you eat (or even having to avoid your favorite foods altogether!) or have such a difficult maintenance routine; perhaps you remember or have heard the horror stories of floss-threaders, broken wires, cheek wax, and the like!

Okay, so what does having straight, pretty, teeth have to do with TMD? Well, very often TMD and all of its horrible symptoms like pain, clicking, headaches, ringing ears, neck and back pain and the rest, are because of the jaw joint (TMJ) being out of position because the teeth are not in the correct place. You see every part of the body is interconnected. To paraphrase the famous children’s song Dry Bones, the thigh bone really is connected to the knee bone. In some cases, by positioning the teeth and stabilizing the occlusion we can alleviate those horrific TMD symptoms.

So for some patients the connection between orthodontics and TMD is everything; the only way to tell is to have a thorough neuromuscular bite evaluation. You may find that orthodontic treatments will give you more than a beautiful smile but a healthier you!

‘til next entry,

Dr. Hale