Orthodontics, to put the teeth in proper position.

In most cases, patients with TMJ pain and disorders have a problem with the position of their mandible or lower jaw. The size of the lower jaw or mandible is genetically determined. The size of the upper arch and teeth, or maxilla, is functionally driven or determined. So habits such as thumb sucking can cause narrow maxillas with high vaulting palates, and flared front teeth. Airway obstructions can be caused by deviated septums, enlarged tonsils and adenoids. These cause difficulty breathing through the nose, and so mouth breathing occurs. This causes dry oral tissues, snoring, apnea or episodes where breathing stops. When the mouth is used for breathing instead of the nose, the jaws do not develop fully.

Often upper front teeth can be tipped backwards or inward. When the lower jaw closes, this forces the mandible to close in a strained posterior position, and damages the TMJ.

A constricted, narrow maxilla with crooked teeth causes the mandible to be held in a retruded or pulled back position when the teeth are closed together. This holds the mandible in a position that is harmful to the TMJ or temporomandibular joint. This starts the clicking and joint sounds and leads to further serious symptoms such as headaches, migraine, ringing of ears, loss of some hearing, dizziness, stuffy ears, etc. Often initial therapy is a splint or mouth piece that is worn and it positions the lower jaw more down and forward. This causes the condyle or head of the mandible to be placed in a more favorable or therapeutic position. The click clears up and pressure can be relieved in the TMJ. This only helps as long as the splint is being worn.

Orthopedic-orthodontic correction of both jaws is most often needed to relieve the mandible that is being held back. The misshaped arches need to be corrected to allow the lower jaw to be put in a better position. Dr. Jen Kin can gladly show you models of what is happening to a damaged TMJ and how it can be helped with orthopedic-orthodontic treatment.