In the dentist’s area of operation, except common decay treatment, padodontosis and missing teeth reconstruction, there is temporomandibular disease, so called temporomandibular dysfunction, treatment and prevention
Symptoms of dysfunction: headache, earache, joint disorder, pain during eating, tinnitus, mandibular dislocation, e.g. during yawning, habitual gritting and grinding of teeth, dental abrasion. Simply put, temporomandibular dysfunction occurs providing hypertonia of muscles that take part in food chewing. Higher hypertonia causes formation of occlusion and temporomandibular joints workload.
Effects of such a tension are gritting and grinding of teeth, which happen usually during sleep, leading to:
Dysfunction effects treatment is long-lasting, extensive and expensive because it requires whole occlusion reconstruction and regeneration of all teeth issues abrasion, whilst workload jawbone muscles and damaged joint structures require long-term rehabilitation. Therefore, appropriate diagnosis at its early stage and appropriate prevention application are so important.
Human organism functioning can be perceived only holistically and the same attitude should occur while treating. Very often the reason and symptoms for temporomandibuar dysfunction go beyond the stomatognathic area.
Recent achievements in anatomy and neurophysiology show close relationship between occlusal contacts, poise and correct binocular vision. Therefore, both dysfunction diagnosis and treatment should be based on specialists team: dental surgeons, physiotherapists and optometrists.
