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Crowning Teeth to Treat TMJ Disorder

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I have TMJ Disorder that I wear a mouth guard for. While it has improved, I’m still having problems. My dentist is suggesting that this is because I’ve worn my teeth down to nubs. What she wants to do is put crowns on all of my teeth in order to fix my bite. She says it will completely solve my TMJ issues. This seems rather radical to me. Is this even a legitimate treatment?

Walter

Dear Walter,

Woman holding her jaw from TMJ pain

Placing dental crowns on all of your teeth is a legitimate way to treat TMJ disorder. It is designed to get your bite into the right alignment so that your jaw, especially your temporomandibular joint, is also in proper alignment and you are no longer in any pain. This is know as a full-mouth reconstruction. I would say though that this is a highly specialized treatment. You would want someone with advanced training.

Going to dental school is not enough in this case. You want someone with post-doctoral training. Otherwise you could end up in a worse situation than you were in to begin with. It has to be done very carefully, starting with provisional treatment first and making sure everything is properly placed and comfortable before building up the permanent crowns.

I would look for someone with training from one of the following institutions:

  • The Pankey Institute
  • The Dawson Academy
  • The Las Vegas Institute for Advanced Dental Studies
  • Piper Education and Research Center

It’s possible that your current dentist has the needed training. Starting with a mouthguard was spot-on. I like that she didn’t just jump to the most expensive treatment and went with the least invasive first to see what type of results you’d get. She seems to know what she’s doing. You’re probably safe sticking with her. Just make sure that your dentist does the temporary crowns first and you are completely comfortable with the treatment.

This blog is brought to you by Duluth, GA Dentist Dr. David Marion.

Fixing a Broken Lower Front Tooth

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I fell during a track meet and broke part of my lower front tooth. It’s a small chip, but it is a bit ragged and hurts my lip. My dentist tried repairing it but the bonding (what I think they called it) just keeps falling off. My mother doesn’t think there is anything else they can do. I’m hoping there is some new medicine or technology that can just help the tooth regrow. Do you know of any new things?

Amaya

Dear Amaya,

Images before and after a dental bonding repair.

The problem you are facing is that the edges of the bottom teeth hit the upper incisal edges every time you close your mouth. While a bonding repair is the correct repair for a chipped tooth it requires the dentist to know about occlusion. This takes post-doctoral training and not many dentists invest in this training.

This can be repaired with either composite bonding or with porcelain veneers. The problem you are up against is that you need an expert cosmetic dentist to do the work. When done right, it will not fall off and your mother will not have to keep taking you back and forth to the dentist to get it placed back on.

If you can, either you or your mother should look for a dentist who has studied at one of these schools:

  • The Dawson Academy
  • The Las Vegas Institute for Advanced Dental Studies
  • The Pankey Institute

There are others, but these are three great ones that have special training in both TMJ Disorder and occlusion. Then, you’ll need to take the additional step of looking at their smile gallery to see what type of cosmetic work they do. Look at both bonding and porcelain veneer cases. You’ll want them to be something you find beautiful.

I hope this helps you.

This blog is brought to you by Duluth, GA Dentist Dr. David Marion.