Symptoms of Occlusal Disease may include: jaw pain/discomfort; "noise" in the jaw joint such as clicking and popping; trouble chewing, talking, an uncomfortable bite.
Occlusal Disease can also lead to headaches, neck and shoulder pain. Causes may stem from trauma to the jaw, grinding of teeth or stress.
Our doctors are experienced in evaluating, diagnosing and treating this disease. The first step is evaluating the jaw joint and bite as well as taking a panoral x-ray. The dentist will also do a T-Scan exam which will help determine if an occlusal equilibration or orthotic device is necessary.
An occlusal equilibration is adjusting the patient's bite. An orthotic device will help the patient achieve centric relation. Once centric relation is established, it may be necessary for an occlusal equilibration.
Creating an orthotic device will take several appointments. The first of which is taking impressions and creating an anterior deprogrammer. The patient will wear the anterior deprogrammer overnight. The patient will come for their second appointment the next morning, without removing the device.
The dentist will evaluate the patient's bite and will build the deprogrammer into the orthotic. The dentist will T-Scan the patients bite with the orthotic in and adjust the orthotic as necessary. The patient is encouraged to wear the orthotic at night time and as much as possible.
The patient will be scheduled one week following their second appointment for adjustment and re-evaluation.