In my little world of TMJ disorders I have been acutely aware of the negative effects of wearing upper (maxillary) nightguards for many years now. Years ago, my osteopath doctors explained that the upper hard acrylic devices will actually slow the pumping effect of the blood and CSF in the brain. This, of course, is potentially quite harmful to the... read more »

It seems like almost every day I meet a new patient who wears a device called a ‘nightguard’. There are so many issues with this ‘nightguard’ thing so let me just get right to it. First of all, in almost all patients who clench or grind their teeth the articular discs in the jaw joints are out of place. The... read more »

In today’s blog I am going to make a correlation with a bit of a stretch. I am going to put together the opinions and beliefs of several types of doctors and the research that correlates with those doctors. In other words, I am going out on a limb today. This blog actually started many years ago. I was at... read more »

The technique that I learned for doing regular braces has changed greatly over the years. When I first learned how to do braces, all that we did was to make the teeth straight, so they looked good. Then, I met Dr. Brendan Stack, and that changed completely. Dr. Stack explained to me that he noticed how well patients felt when... read more »

Recently, we have had a slew of people calling our office asking, “Can I have a TMJ / TMD problem with no pain?” They go on to explain they have nothing wrong with them except for a popping and clicking noise in the joints. Well, dear readers, the popping and clicking in those jaw joints are simply the early warning... read more »

In my little world of treating craniofacial pain disorders, it has been an interesting journey this year. For a month or so at the beginning of the Covid scare, people stayed away as they figured out the best path to take. Then, after only a month or so of being sequestered from the world, they came to see us in... read more »

This happens almost every day at my office. A new patient will come in because their jaw joints are hurting and they simply cannot figure out why things are so bad. It really can be quite the conundrum for them. When I start asking questions the truth comes out: The TM joints have been clicking and clacking and popping for... read more »

This month of November, 2020, marks a time when it’s important to be aware of TMJ disorders and what you need to look for in your journey to find relief. Many of the symptoms of TMD are very difficult to really identify as to what might be causing them. For example, many of our patients come to our office with... read more »

When we see a little kid sucking their thumb, many people think that it looks harmless and sometimes even cute. Little do they know that thumb sucking leads to all sorts of damage to the skull and the airway! In today’s blog I would like to go into some of the reasons why you should figure out why thumb sucking... read more »

In our modern society, most of the young people I meet really, really want braces or Invisalign or something to make their teeth look more cosmetic. This is where I need to segue into some of the reasons why doing orthodontic work may not be the right path to take. When a new patient comes to my office, I like... read more »