According to a statistic from the National Institute for Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), temporomandibular joint disorder, commonly referred to as TMJ disorder, is the second most commonly occurring musculoskeletal condition resulting in pain and disability, affecting approximately 10 million Americans. At her center for general and cosmetic dentistry in Annapolis, Innovative Family Dental Health, Dr. Yasaman Roland says she sees a large number of patients each year who complain of muscle pain in their jaw, chronic migraines, and facial popping. While some treatments involve oral appliances, drugs, or surgery, Dr. Roland says her practice implements a non-invasive method for TMJ treatment that addresses the source of pain in order to produce long term results.
Typically associated with a wide range of symptoms including pain, noise, or clicking in the jaw and clenching or grinding of the teeth, the Annapolis dentist says TMJ disorder is often caused by poor bite alignment. Because the temporomandibular joint is used throughout the day for various activities such as talking and eating, Dr. Roland says the pain caused by pressure to these joints can be unbearable, and early diagnosis is key for successful treatment of the condition. She says finding the right course of action for planning treatment requires taking into account each patient’s individual dental structure so as to ensure the results will provide a comfortable fit and a proper solution for their needs.
“To treat TMJ, we look at the person as a whole,” she says. “We want to find the cause of the problem and treat that for long term effects. Our non-invasive approach means we simply diagnose and then treat the cause, with no surgery or drugs.”
Since each patient has a unique situation that is contributing to the onset of TMJ disorder, Dr. Roland says there is no cookie cutter formula for its treatment. For example, one of her recent patients suffered from severe teeth grinding, which had led to everything from migraines and neck pain to facial popping and tingling in her fingertips. First diagnosing the cause, Dr. Roland says she was able to remodel this patient’s jaw and align the muscles by putting in structural support, helping to relax her muscles and balance her jaw alignment. After building the foundation of this patient’s dental composition on a correctly aligned jaw, she reshaped the teeth and restored the structure of her smile that had been worn away due to clenching and grinding.
“When the structural support of the teeth disappears, the jaw relationship becomes compromised,” says Dr. Roland. “After that happens, the function of the jaw also becomes compromised, and this is when we see patients running into a lot of pain.”
While remodeling the jaw and teeth with structural support is one way to treat TMJ, Dr. Roland says she has also used orthodontic procedures to help alleviate patient pain at her Annapolis dentistry practice. In order to ensure the most successful outcome, she says the proper treatment plan must be determined by an experienced and qualified dentist. Dr. Roland adds that she encourages all patients considering treatment for TMJ disorder to consult with a dedicated practice.
About Yasaman Roland, DDS
Dr. Yasaman Roland is a graduate of the University of Maryland Dental School and a Fellow of the Las Vegas Institute for Advanced Dental Studies. She is a member of the American Dental Association, the Maryland State Dental Association, the International Association of Orthodontics, and several other organizations, and has dedicated numerous hours to her continued education. Dr. Roland has also been selected as a “Top Dentist in America” and a “Top Dentist” by What’s Up magazine.
Located at 133 Defense Highway Suite 103 in Annapolis, MD, The Center for Transformative Dentistry can be reached at (410) 266-3595 or via our form.
