TMJ Dysfunction, Neuromuscular Dentistry and Relief for San Diego Patients

Head and neck mobility and pain-free motion are considered the norm by most people.
However, thousands of people suffering from TMJ dysfunction live with daily painful head and neck movement as well as headaches, jaw pain, tinnitus (ringing in the ears), shoulder pain and clicking and popping in the jaw.
Consider the extent to which the head, neck and jaw are typically used.
Aside from basic tasks like talking and chewing, the average person simply swallows from 2,000 - 3,000 times in a day.
Each swallow causes the upper and lower teeth to meet for a fraction of a second. For the person with TMJ dysfunction, such a simple, necessary act can cause nearly continuous discomfort.
Dr. Fallah, with advanced training in Neuromuscular Dentistry, is able to utilize cutting edge technology and computer diagnostics to pinpoint the source of the pain and correct TMJ dysfunction.
Dr. Fallah uses a variety of techniques to relieve patient discomfort including:
- interruption of muscle spasm
- bite optimization
- full mouth reconstruction
- neuromuscular orthodontics
Dr. Fallah can precisely measure the patient jaw and bite registration. The registration of the ‘normal’ position of the jaw is calculated – the position of the jaw in a relaxed, non-contracted position. With the jaw in the corrected, comfortable state, spasms, neck and jaw pain are relieved. This ideal, relaxed position can be obtained and retained with a fix as simple as restructuring a broken tooth with a veneer to a total re-alignment of the bite.

Please visit Dr. Fallah's site to find out more about his specialized training and the state-of-the-art equipment and techniques he uses to help patients with San Diego TMJ dysfunction >>>

White Smile -- Naturally

The most unattractive thing about a smile is discolored teeth, according to a recent American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry (AACD) consumer poll. And the numbers prove it! Whitening treatment is the number one requested cosmetic dental procedure and has increased more than 300% since 1996, according to the AACD.

“While daily home care and regular professional cleanings are essential for maintaining healthy teeth and gums, certain foods can help remove stains from your teeth,” says AACD President Dr. Marty Zase. “Foods such as apples, pears, celery, carrots, cauliflower, and cucumbers produce saliva which combines with the foods’ natural fibers to naturally clean teeth and remove bacteria.”

Natural White Smile Foods and Tips include:

* Strawberries - naturally whiten your teeth.
* Avoid drinking coffee, dark syrup sodas, red wine and blueberries. All stain teeth quickly.
* Drink from a straw whenever possible…allows food dyes to bypass teeth altogether.
* Baking soda helps remove stains and build up. Brush it on your teeth twice a month, just as you would toothpaste, and rinse.
* Raw veggies are not only healthy to eat, but they will clean your teeth and remove surface stains.
* The mechanical action of chewing sugarless gum can also stimulate saliva and clean teeth surfaces, though not recommended for patients with TMJ.


Dr. Fallah provides Teeth Whitening and for yellowed, chipped, cracked and discolored teeth, Porcelain Veneers -- all in his comfortable, friendly San Diego Dental offices.

Benefits of Cosmetic Dentistry

Dr. Anne Beall, a social psychologist and market research professional carried out an independent study on behalf of the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry (AACD). Pictures of eight individuals were shown to 528 Americans, a statistically valid cross section of the population. The respondents were asked to quickly judge the eight people as to how attractive, intelligent, happy, successful in their career, friendly, interesting, kind, wealthy, popular with the opposite sex, and sensitive to other people they were.
Two sets of photos were created, with each set showing four individuals before undergoing cosmetic dentistry, and four after treatment. Half the respondents viewed set A, the other half set B. The eight subjects viewed by respondents were evenly divided by gender. Two had mild improvements through cosmetic dentistry, two had moderate improvements, and four had major improvements to their smiles, to give a wide range for respondents to view. None, however, had visibly rotten teeth, missing teeth or catastrophically bad dental health in the before shots. Respondents were not told that they were looking at dentistry, but were asked to make snap judgments rating each person for the ten characteristics, on a scale of one to ten, with “one” being “not at all,” and “ten” being “extremely.”

The results indicated that an attractive smile does have broad ranging benefits:

Characteristic Average	“Before” rating	“After” rating	Increase
Attractive	4.6	5.9	1.3
Intelligent	5.9	6.5	.6
Happy	6.2	6.8	.4
Successful in their career	5.8	6.7	.9
Friendly	6.3	6.8	.5
Interesting	5.4	6.1	.7
Kind	6.0	6.4	.4
Wealthy	4.9	5.9	1.0
Popular with the opposite sex	5.0	6.2	1.2
Sensitive to other people	5.6	6.1	.5

“Based on a lot of interaction with happy patients, we were expecting this type of difference in attractiveness and popularity with the opposite sex,” said Dr. Marty Zase, President of AACD, “but to have large gains in how successful, intelligent, interesting and wealthy patients appeared after cosmetic dentistry caught even us by surprise. We’ve been telling people that a beautiful smile was a great investment in their futures. Now we have independent evidence.”

While the change was most dramatic for Attractive, Popular with the opposite sex, Wealthy and Successful in their career, the change was statically significant in all areas.

Contact Dr. Fallah, your San Diego Cosmetic Dentist, for a Beautiful New Year!