Are There Any Non-Surgical Treatment Options for Lockjaw?

If you suffer from lockjaw you more than anyone know how much discomfort and pain it brings into your life. You’ve perhaps been looking for ways to ease the discomfort or treat this problem completely. Treating the lockjaw is the best way to prevent the problem from getting worse and causing the extreme bone tear and wear that could lead to osteoporosis. Many physicians and ENT doctors inform their patients about only the surgical options to treat the locked jaw since ѕurgісаl procedure for many years was assumed to be the only treatment method.

However, since the jaw disc dislocation is a dental problem, caused by teeth misalignment, teeth grinding and other TMJ disorder causes (read more here) it has been studied extensively and alternative advanced dental treatment methods have been developed. The dental treatment is focused on treating the underlying cause that triggered the disc displacement.

Not every dentist will be able to diagnose the problem properly and provide the required treatment. Only TMJ dentists specially trained in neuro-muscular science and bioesthetics are able to consult, diagnose and treat lockjaw with the dental procedures that provide immediate relief as well as long lasting change if the patient undergoes the full treatment plan.

You may also encounter botox options to relief the pain from locked jaw. Bear in mind, that while botox injections may help with the pain temporarily by relaxing the muscles, they won’t target the root cause of the problem.

What does dental non-surgical treatment include for the locked jaw?

Non-surgical lockjaw treatment consists of several stages. On the stage one the TMJ dentist will perform a thorough diagnose taking the detailed measurements of the teeth alignment, getting the 3D scanning in order to see the current jaw bone positioning and throat opening ratio. On the stage two, a custom-made splint will be fabricated which will help temporarily put the disc in place. Once the symptoms have improved the doctor will then advice that the long term stabilization is considered.

This long term stabilization options may include orthodontics, dental build ups or reductions, teeth reconstruction, full mouth rehabilitation or combination of procedures – all with the purpose to stabilize the jaw joint and hold it in its place by permanently correcting the teeth alignment.

What are the costs of such dental procedures?

The cost will vary on the case severity as well as if a patient will want to undergo the full treatment or only partial that release the pain but require constantly wearing a stabilization splint.

The treatment can be spread throughout several years. Once the pain relief is achieved and the jaw disc is temporarily into its place, then the patient can wear the custom-made TMJ splint to maintain the achieved results. This splint and the jaw has to be examined on a regular basis to make sure the correct alignment is still in place. It is recommended to undergo the full treatment to get rid of the need to constantly wear the stabilizing splint. When a patient ready for such treatment, then it may take a few months or up to a year to bring the teeth structure into the optimum shape.