Patient-Centered Care Is the Key to Successful TMJ Treatment

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TMJ is a complex condition that can be difficult to treat. For some people, it can be linked with other chronic pain conditions, such as fibromyalgia and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Individually, these disorders are nearly impossible to treat, and in combination the challenge can be multiplied.

That doesn’t mean that we can’t overcome the difficulties and get you relief from your discomfort with TMJ treatment. But it does mean that we have to focus on you in order to achieve your best possible outcomes.

 

Many Specialists, One Focus

One of the most important aspects of our new understanding of TMJ is that it often benefits from a team approach. It shouldn’t be surprising that, given the complexity of TMJ symptoms, then TMJ treatment would also be complex.

Multidisciplinary approaches seem to have the best success rates in TMJ treatment, but in order to be successful, everyone in the team has to be focused on the patient.

As we decipher the riddle of your TMJ, we may assemble a diverse team of medical care practitioners to help treat you. As neuromuscular dentists, we see and understand an important part of the puzzle, but you may benefit from the perspectives of an orthodontist, physical therapist, and psychologist, as well as your regular doctor. You might find that alternative care providers such as acupuncturists, masseuses, yogis, and more can also bring important elements to your treatment plan.

We are here for you, and, as such, we are prepared to work with whatever members of your team that you believe are helpful to achieving positive results. If cooperation is the best road to success, then that’s the road we want to be on.

A Compassionate Care Partnership

An essential part of patient-centered care is that we work together to achieve the best results. Although we are trained neuromuscular dentists, we don’t use our expertise to dictate treatment. Instead, we put our expertise at your service.

When you first come to our office for a consultation, we encourage you to tell us all about your TMJ experience. Share your symptoms with us in detail. We will listen to your experience and use questions to help you better express yourself so that we can develop a more accurate diagnosis and design a more effective treatment.

We will make sure we explain what we see as the cause of your TMJ symptoms in clear, layman’s terms. We want you to ask questions about anything you don’t understand. We’ll also explain the treatment options as we see them, using the same plain, clear language, and help you understand the benefits and drawbacks of each. Then you get to decide what treatment approaches are best for you.

Body, Mind, and Spirit

As we have come to understand that TMJ disorders have many causes, we have also come to understand that there are psychological dimensions to be addressed. These are crucial aspects to be considered, and for many people, we can’t achieve success without addressing these elements.

TENS treatments and bite splints work very well for addressing many of the critical bite issues that contribute to your TMJ, but without considering psychological and spiritual dimensions, they may fall short.

We will help you understand your condition fully. Just knowing what’s going on and how it’s triggered can help you feel more at peace with the condition, and help you avoid habits that can worsen the condition. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) has been shown to make a big difference for people TMJ, as it gives you more and better approaches to avoid damaging habits and parafunctions.

Stress management can also play an important role in TMJ treatment, since many people experience TMJ secondary to stress-related behaviors. Relaxation training can help you calm stress, and biofeedback techniques can sometimes allow you to take control of your pain and reduce or eliminate it.

Take the First Step to Relief

If you are struggling with TMJ, today is the best day to start getting better. Get in contact with our doctors, Dr. George Sepiashvili and Dr. Wanda Mejia, in our office by our office by Mohegan Lake, NY to schedule your consultation!

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