How Are Sleep and TMJ Disorders Treated?
There are so many ways to treat the disorders associated with sleep problems and/or TMJ issues that they are hard to express in one short post. Let’s start with sleep-disordered breathing first. In most cases, it is a good idea to do a polysomnogram (PSG) to determine how serious the potential apnea might be.
Documenting a starting point is always a good idea for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). As for treatment, the CPAP is always the gold standard. It guarantees air will be forced into the lungs to make sure a person is breathing and staying alive. There are other approaches to OSA treatment and one of the best is an oral appliance that opens the throat vertically while moving the jaw forward. In our office we also offer laser therapy to shrink the tongue and quite literally lift up the palate to improve breathing. This helps a person to breathe better through their nose. Nasal breathing is always healthier than mouth breathing.
When it comes to treating temporomandibular disorder (TMD) – the gold standard might be the orthotic device for the lower jaw because it will make sure the condyle, the top of the jawbone, does not bang into the socket and hurt the soft disc on top of that condyle. On the upper jaw, the ALF appliance helps to align the tongue to improve breathing and gets the bones to line up better. What also helps TMD cases is using laser and massage therapy at the same time.
In our office we recently acquired the EMFACE device, an FDA-approved special device that is used to treat TMD cases specifically. It feels great and works even better at reducing tension and inflammation in the head/neck area. There are many techniques and combinations of techniques, personalized for each patient.
A sought-after international speaker for TMD and sleep apnea therapies, Dr. Jeffrey L. Brown is a graduate of the Georgetown Dental School and a Fellow of the American Academy of Craniofacial Pain.
“Early intervention and a proactive approach are strategies that can help prevent symptoms from worsening, improving quality of life over time,” says Dr. Brown.