Extensive Bridgework with Adjunctive TMJ Treatment - Case #19

Sometimes Mother Nature is not kind to all of us.
This lovely patient complained about her teeth her entire life. Her overbite and years of neglect had caused serious problems to her oral health. She had daily headaches and jaw pain.

It took us several months to treat her basic dental needs: gum disease, cavities, infected roots, etc. We did not make any referrals to specialists as all of her care was handled in our office, minimizing patient expenses and number of visits.

Soon after, a 14 unit fixed bridge was placed on her upper jaw. This bridge was fabricated as one unit in order to provide stability to her weak teeth and give us a strong foundation for treating her TMJ problems. It was necessary to "solder" all of her upper teeth together to give us the required strength and stability. The cosmetic result was very good as you can see in the close-up photos. The teeth are actually made as a one-piece bridge, even though they appear to be individualized.

TMJ STABILIZATION AND OCCLUSAL REHABILITATION
This final step of the puzzle was accomplished by fabricating 2 bridges on her lower jaw in order to provide the proper jaw to jaw relationship and eliminate the TMJ and jaw pain that she was experiencing since childhood. She was completely pain free within 2 months of finishing treatment.

Notice how we fabricated the upper jaw work. This is necessary in order to provide proper foundation for the lower jaw, which uses the upper jaw as guidance and control for its function. Lack of upper jaw guidance is responsible for a majority of facial pain, including migraines and headaches!

Proper reconstructive work requires in-depth investigation and diagnosis of all jaw and facial components. Our advanced Neuromuscular program encompasses a variety of techniques required to properly balance dental work with a person's muscles, jaws, ligaments, nerves, and other structures in order to provide the most harmonious relationship for proper function.