Jaw Joint Therapy

The temporomandibular joint therapy is of particular importance in terms of stabilising or restoring the holistic body balance. Even the smallest impairments of the chewing apparatus can lead to incorrect loading of the jaw joints, which can cause discomfort in the near-joint area, but may also affect the neck, shoulder and spinal column. Orthodontists also speak of a craniomandibular dysfunction (CMD), which is a malfunction of the upper and lower jaw, including the surrounding tissues such as the jaw joint, musculature, cartilage disc and tendons. The individual elements of the chewing apparatus are finely tuned to each other in their holistic function – this has to be obtained with all the means available!

In our orthodontic practices in Bad Homburg, Kronberg and Kelkheim, we take a comprehensive medical history and perform a clinical examination at first, taking the general health of your teeth, the tooth holding apparatus, the masticatory muscles and the jaw joint together with the surrounding structures into account, examining the existing dentures and palpating the areas close to the joints – this can already determine possible muscle tensions.

An orienting functional diagnosis of the masticatory system helps us to find impairments within the craniomandibular system.

The examination of your body’s statics completes the holistic diagnostics and allows us to provide an exact diagnosis. Misbites and muscle tension can cause massive discomfort on the spine in ascending or descending order. Thus, a pelvic obliquity may cause ascending disorders at the jaw joint or a misbite may be able to cause the formation of a herniated disc in the descending direction.

The overall picture of the diagnostic data forms the basis for a suitable jaw joint therapy. Patients with CMD can benefit from special occlusal splints which we manufacture individually for them. Our orthodontists first take a conventional or digital impression of your jaws and detect the exact position of your lower jaw. Whereupon, plaster models of the jaws are created and they are placed in a jaw joint simulator (articulator). Thus, your jaw movements are exactly reproduced and on this data basis the dental technicians are able to produce the individual occlusal splints.

These occlusal splints contribute to the lower jaw being shifted into a relaxed jaw-joint-gentle position, minimizing existing muscle tension and reducing muscle forces to the joint. In addition, they help prevent occlusal interference and harmonise the jaw joint function. Existing ailments such as joint cracking, tooth, jaw, head and facial pain can be reduced or even subside completely.

In terms of our holistic treatment concept, it goes without saying that our orthodontists will perform the temporomandibular joint therapy interdisciplinarily with other specialists. Our orthodontic practices in Kronberg, Bad Homburg and Kelkheim work closely together with your dentists, osteopaths, manual therapists, physiotherapists, general practitioners, implantologists, orthopedic surgeons and psychologists.

In order to achieve a lasting stabilisation of the result after a successful jaw joint treatment, we perform follow-ups in our orthodontic practices in Bad Homburg, Kronberg and Kelkheim.

Following the jaw joint treatment, the orthodontic “fine tuning“ of teeth and jaws can lead to a long lasting success. It’s one of our main aims to prevent late damage such as jaw joint osteoarthritis or excessive wear of your teeth.