Specialty Dentistry – Point Pleasant, NJ

TMJ TREATMENT

TMJ is the acronym for the “temporomandibular joint,” which connects your lower jaw (the mandible) to your skull at the maxillofacial joint. This joint controls many jaw functions like chewing. If the chewing muscles or the joint itself are causing you pain, you may have temporomandibular disorder, or TMD. TMD can be caused by stress, continual clenching of the jaw muscles, or teeth grinding.

Some of the symptoms of TMD include but are not limited to:

• Pain when opening or closing your mouth
• Trouble chewing
• Jaw feeling stuck open or shut
• Chronic headaches, ear pain, or ringing in the ears
• Clicking or popping sounds when opening your mouth
• Teeth grinding and clenching (usually during sleep)

If you suspect you have TMD, come in for a consultation or mention it at your regular dental checkup and teeth cleaning appointment. Many of the symptoms are associated with other health problems, so only a medical professional can tell you if it is TMD.

In most cases, dental treatments will take care of your TMD issues. However, we work hand in hand with a physical therapist who will evaluate your joints to determine whether the muscles in your head and neck need to be strengthened.

DENTAL IMPLANTS

Dental implants are a permanent and natural looking solutions to replace missing or extracted teeth. Dental implants act as a false tooth root, keeping your other teeth from shifting and preventing the jawbone from receding. An implant is a stable neighbor to the surrounding teeth and can act as an anchor for dental crowns, fixed bridges, and dentures (full and partial). There are many reasons you may be in need of a dental implant, including fractured teeth, cavities, periodontal disease, bone loss, or poor fitting dentures.

Before we attach the replacement tooth or teeth, the dental Implant must be surgically placed below the gum line and fuse with your jawbone. If you’re missing a tooth, the sooner you get the dental implant placed, the better! If you’ve been missing a tooth for a while and still want a dental Implant, don’t worry! We can help you too!

Dental implants are easy to care for and give you a full, beautiful smile. With dental implants you can:

• Permanently replace missing teeth
• Promote the preservation of your jawbone
• Maintain positioning of surrounding teeth
• Eat all of your favorite foods
• Speak with confidence

ROOT CANAL THERAPY

The hollow space within the root of each of your teeth is called a ‘root canal,’ and within that canal, there is dental pulp which consists of soft tissue, nerves, and blood vessels. Tooth decay or trauma can cause damage to your dental pulp which results in an infection that, if left untreated, can spread to the bone around your tooth, resulting in the loss of the tooth. To save the tooth, we will perform a root canal. This procedure involves first removing the dental pulp and cleaning the inside of the tooth. Then, we fill the root canal with a specialized material that protects your tooth from infection and reduces any dental sensitivity. Once the root canal is cleaned, filled, and restored, your tooth is capped with a custom, tooth-colored dental crown that protects the mended root canal and looks and functions like a normal tooth.

TOOTH EXTRACTION

A tooth may need to be extracted for a number of reasons – overcrowding, advanced tooth decay, or because it is an impacted wisdom tooth. Impacted teeth and wisdom teeth that can potentially cause problems, like infections, need to be removed. We provide safe, comfortable tooth extraction in our Point Pleasant dental office, and recovery from tooth extraction is relatively quick. Read more on our postoperative care page for a list of post-extraction instructions and food suggestions!