TMJ Treatment Kansas City

Physiologic Neuromuscular Dentistry

Dr. Prabu Raman treats patients from the Kansas City area, all of the United States, parts of Canada, and even from overseas. He is a pioneer and educator in Physiologic Neuromuscular Dentistry. You will often see the terms “Physiologic Dentistry” and “Neuromuscular Dentistry” used interchangeably. This area of dentistry focuses on the fact that the teeth, muscles, ligaments, nerves, tendons, and joints must all be in sync to achieve a balanced bite. Neuromuscular dentistry strives to relax the muscles around the jaw to ease tension in the joints.

Achieving the optimal position for the jaw is actually very complex. Facial muscles and other parts of the face determine the function of the oral cavity and how the teeth come together. Your bite affects how you chew, how you speak, and how your teeth function. Relaxing the muscles of the jaw with neuromuscular dentistry/TMJ treatment will stabilize your bite, allowing better alignment of your teeth and much less severe TMJ symptoms.

Dr. Raman teaches other other doctors how to offer Physiologic TMJ treatment

TMJ Treatment in Kansas City

Dr. Raman at Raman Center for TMJ & Sleep will use advanced neuromuscular dental technology to diagnose the source of your jaw pain and plan a course of treatment that will relieve your painful symptoms quickly. Computer analysis will provide Dr. Raman with the information he needs to see where, exactly, the problems with your jaw lie and how to best put your jaw back into its optimal position. The movements and sounds of the jaw will be tracked, so a comprehensive treatment plan can be devised.

Headaches are a common symptom of TMJ, but Dr. Prabu Raman, a Physiologic Neuromuscular Dentist, also treats many ear symptoms that can affect your balance. PNMD treatments alleviate the painful symptoms of TMJ/TMD and improve balance. This is crucial for our older population, as balance-related falls are common in people over 65. By correcting your jaw and neck alignment with various CCMD treatments, Dr. Raman can improve your balance, eliminate vertigo and feelings of dizziness, and reduce the likelihood of falling. When you have an optimal alignment, your entire postural chain from head to toe is corrected, allowing for fewer balance-related issues and a greater quality of life. 

What to Expect with TMJ Treatment

Treatment of TMJ in Kansas City, Missouri, will occur in phases, and not all patients will ever proceed through the phases at the same rate.

Phase 1 is a reversible “trial run” for 90 days or less. During this phase, the progress is evaluated through subjective improvements (as judged by the patient) and objective improvements (measurable criteria such as EMG readings, Range of motion, CT scan views of TM Joints, airway, cervical posture, muscle palpation pain scores, HIT-6, PHQ -15 etc.).

Phase 2 is for further improving or stabilizing the symptom relief achieved in phase 1 for long term. None of them involve jaw surgery or TM Joint surgery.  These options include the following: 1. Stabilize the improvement with removable Computer Assisted Design / Computer Assisted Milling (CAD CAM) orthotic. 2.  Correcting the jaw shapes through orthopedic and orthodontic treatment (NFOO = Neuromuscular Functional Orthopedics / Orthodontics) and move the natural teeth into optimal occlusion over time. 3. NFOO to correct arch forms + Full Mouth Reconstruction to address occlusion as well as aesthetics over a shorter length of time.  Each option has its pros and cons.  We believe in thoroughly informing the patients of all those pros and cons. The final informed decision is made by the patient. Well over 90% of patients experience great success with these non-invasive TMJ treatments.

Treatment may include any of the following supportive therapies:

• Physical therapy
• Posture training
• Orofacial myofunctional therapy
• Trigger point injections
• TENS therapy
• SPG blocks
• ENT surgery for airway restrictions
• Dietary changes
• Ice packs
• Hot packs
• Relaxation techniques
• Behavior modification

Click the link below to watch a video that demonstrates the effectiveness of TMJ treatment.

Early TMJ Treatment is Important

One of the most exciting aspects of TMJ treatment with Dr. Prabu Raman ofthe Raman Center for TMJ & Sleep is that when started early, TMJ treatment is likely to prevent the condition from worsening over time. If you have only had symptoms for a few days, weeks, or months, your treatment plan will likely be less stringent than someone who has suffered from TMJ for years or decades.

If you have already felt the painful symptoms of TMJ for many years, however, it is never too late to begin treatment for TMJ. With the collected data from different types of computer analyses, Dr. Raman will create a customized TMJ treatment plan designed specifically for you.

No two treatment plans are identical at Raman Center for TMJ & Sleep, and modifications may be made to your treatment plan at any time due to slow progress or faster-than-anticipated progress. The sooner we begin treatment, the less damage your body will endure from the dysfunction of the temporomandibular joints.

TMJ Treatment Technology

Dr. Raman has successfully diagnosed and treated his patients with:

• EMG
• TENS
• DNA Appliance®
• K-7
• OccluSense
• Carestream Scanner
• Cone Beam CT Scanner

Contact Dr. Prabu Raman

If you’re ready to learn more about TMJ treatment available in Kansas City, Missouri, please contact Dr. Prabu Raman at Raman Center for TMJ & Sleep by calling (816) 436-4422. We also have an online contact form that allows you to submit a question or appointment request to our amazing neuromuscular dentistry team. If you experience any of the painful symptoms of TMJ, why wait another day to begin treatment?

Dr. Raman is a world-renowned Physiologic Neuromuscular Dentist, with the training, experience, and knowledge to treat TMJ symptoms and provide relief so you can live a life free of TMJ pain.