We saw a patient last week who had jaw joint surgery in 2004 and orthodontics (braces) pre and post surgery. This patient was a lady who presented with a case that involved her front teeth starting to not touch, or what we call an anterior open bite.
To summarize a long story of 4 years in braces and surgery, no attempt was made to non-surgicaly correct this problem or even to non-surgically get the jaw joint disc back in place. We saw this pateint several weeks ago and only a few teeth touch and she has severe joint pain. The disc was sutured in place surgically and the jaw broken to bring the teeth together.
In short, I am hoping this article will bring attention to the fact that most TMJ cases can be treated non-surgically and every attempt should be attempted prior to even considering surgery. This is not referring to orthognathic cases or severe trauma situations.
Using advanced 3D Imaging and sophisticated computer analysis, which is FDA approved, along with a comprehensive TMJ exam, we are able to discern what is happening in the joint and neck and are better able to treat our paitents non-surgically.
The different treatment modalities is beyond the scope of this article. If you have any questions about TMJ treatment Houston, Texas or TMJ Pain Houston, Texas please feel free to contact our office, Ronald W. Konig DDS, FAGD, LVIF 713-668-2289
