Dental Orthotics in Palmdale CA
Do you grind or clench your teeth while awake or asleep? If you struggle a misaligned bite, TMJ disorder or bruxism (teeth grinding) our experienced dentist, Dr. James Powell, can provide you with a comfortable, custom-made orthotic at Exceptional Dentistry in Palmdale, CA to improve and preserve your smile so that you can eat, speak, and live free of discomfort.
What Is A Dental Orthotic?
A dental orthotic is a removable dental appliance that you wear. It can be removable or semi-permanent (meaning that they are fixed to the teeth to be removed later), but is meant to be worn all of the time to relieve the symptoms of TMD, such as:
- Chronic jaw pain, jaw soreness, jaw stiffness or tired jaws
- Chronic facial pain and earaches
- Jaw locking (e.g. the jaw gets stuck)
- Frequent tension headaches and migraines
- Bruxism (teeth grinding or clenching)
- Excessive tooth wear (leading to chipped, flattened, cracked or very worn teeth)
- Joint pain related to arthritis of the jaw
- Increased tooth sensitivity
FAQs Dental Orthotics
You must wear it all the time, even while eating. Removing it at other times would be like taking a cast off a broken arm and still expecting it to heal.
Dental orthotics look similar to clear retainers or even occlusal guards. They can be removable or semi-permanent (meaning that they are fixed to the teeth to be removed later). Sometimes they are even made to look like teeth when your natural teeth are too short due to teeth grinding, closing the gap between the upper and lower teeth.
Occlusal guards are used to slow down tooth wear and only protect the teeth while wearing it. They are used for people who are grinding their teeth to help prevent more damage from occurring, but they do not treat the cause. You will continue to grind or clench when wearing one of these devices, so they do not help relieve TMD symptoms.
Since a dental orthotic, when used properly, is really the first phase in finding permanent relief from TMD and preventing further damage to your teeth. The orthotic is used to see if your symptoms can be alleviated. The amount of time that this takes can vary depending on the individual, but can take a few months.
Once you are feeling relief, then you’d move to phase 2 which will correct your muscle position and bite for permanent relief.
The specifics of Phase 2 will depend on the individual’s needs but may include: physiologic orthodontics or full-mouth rehabilitation, a combination of both, or a semi-permanent orthotic.