The importance of bite relation (occlusal analysis) cannot be over-emphasized in the dental practice setting. The placement of fillings, crowns, bridges, bite splints, implants, veneers, onlays, inlays, dentures; just about anything we do in dental medicine demands a proper spatial relationship between the temporomandibular joints (TMJ’s) and the oral cavity, not to mention a proper relationship between the maxilla and the mandible. Ignorance to the occlusion, or bite, can create havoc for the patient, creating problems ranging from sensitive teeth, to root canal therapy, to temporomandibular disorder (TMD or “TMJ” as it’s known widely), and even certain types of chronic headaches. Traditionally, a colored ribbon of paper known as articulating paper is used by the dentist to check the bite. The use of this thin paper is problematic though, as it only qualifies where the bite is “high”, doing nothing to quantify/show how much or how hard…
An instrument borrowed from the world of engineering known as the T-Scan® allows a dentist to do just that, QUANTIFY how hard or how much the teeth touch, in 3/1,000 second increments (IN TIME).
The T-Scan® digital occlusal analysis is used in Dr. N_____’s office as needed to augment treatment relating to CEREC® insertions, fillings, implant restorations, and in particular, to assist in the novel Occlusal Adjustment procedure known as ICAGD to accomplish DTR for muscular TMD treatments.
The T-Scan® digital occlusal analysis is used in Dr. N_____’s office as needed to augment treatment relating to CEREC® insertions, fillings, implant restorations, and in particular, to assist in the novel Occlusal Adjustment procedure known as ICAGD to accomplish DTR for muscular TMD treatments.
Joint vibration analysis is a painless, digital screening tool to measure the health of the TMJ’s. It resembles a headset that is placed over the patients’ temporomandibular joints that “listens” for vibrations that might be emanating from the joints, which are characteristic of joint pathology, or lack thereof. These vibrations can be correlated against known vibrations from the scientific literature to give Dr. ______ a rapid assessment of the state of health of that patient’s TMJ cartilage that is ~90% accurate, in minutes! This is significant, because the cartilaginous disk that sits between the lower jaw bone and skull bone (the TMJ-we have a right and a left TMJ located just in front of our ears), when damaged, can have a devastating effect upon dental treatment. Damaged TM disks can be directly related not only to the bite, but potentially painful muscular manifestations, leading to unpredictable dental treatment outcomes. Most in dental medicine do not have a true understanding of this fact. Having a full appreciation for this fact, Dr. ______ uses the JVA on all of his regular patients. Akin to a blood pressure reading in your physician’s physical exam, we track your JVA readings over time at every dental checkup, which helps to identify problems before they manifest themselves.
Electromyography is a painless, highly accurate, and objective digital tool that Dr. _______ uses to measure muscular activity in the chewing muscles. Surface electrodes are placed over the target muscles so that the tiny little currents that muscles create can be measured, allowing us to analyze chewing sequences and patterns just like neurologists and researchers do. This is a totally painless and safe procedure. Why are muscles important in dental medicine? For multiple reasons; muscles:
Placement of EMG skin-surface electrodes over pertinent muscles of mastication. No current is generated. The tape electrodes simply sense for minuscule changes in microvoltage outputs generated in the target muscles as they change during function as the lower jaw functions.
- Break teeth
- Can cause pain in the orofacial region, such as headaches
- Can damage the cartilaginous TMJ disks
- Must be in a balanced state or problems will potentially arise over time
Placement of EMG skin-surface electrodes over pertinent muscles of mastication. No current is generated. The tape electrodes simply sense for minuscule changes in microvoltage outputs generated in the target muscles as they change during function as the lower jaw functions.
Tscan technology synchs with EMG (muscle electromyography) technology down to the microsecond enabling Dr. ________ to measure instantaneously changes in muscular output relative to miniscule changes in the bite. This combination of technologies is the ultimate TMD treatment aid when the cause of the joint problem is muscular in origin, which it usually is… Click here to watch YouTube videos that Dr. ________ has created about the use of the Tscan/EMG link for the treatment of TMD patients in our practice.