Are Crowns a Good Treatment Plan for TMJ Disorder?

I’ve been wearing a splint for TMJ Disorder and it has been helping. The symptoms have eased a bit when I wear them. Now my dentist is suggesting that he crown several of my back teeth. He says that it could completely alleviate my TMJ symptoms. Is this a normal treatment for TMJ? It sounds a bit over the top for me. There’s nothing physically wrong with those teeth. No decay or infections.

Amanda

Dear Amanda.

Diagram of skull side-view with the TMJ area detailed and an enlarged view of the joint, ligament, disk, and condyle

Yes, while it may sound extreme. it is a very legitimate way to treat TMJ Disorder. Your teeth don’t have to have decay or have an infection in order to throw off your temporomandibular joint, which is the one that leads to TMJ problems. Having crowns placed correctly, can reposition your bite properly so that you no longer have TMJ pain. In some cases, when a bite is off severely, a dentist will actually crown all of the teeth. This is known as a full-mouth reconstruction.

While it is a legitimate treatment, you have to be careful who does it. There is not a recognized specialty in treating TMJ. Yet, in order to do it correctly, a dentist will need significant post-doctoral training in order to treat it properly. While it sounds like your dentist has some experience with treating TMJ based on the splint, I would still double check the training.

You’d want someone who has training from one of these institutions for post-doctoral training:

Spear Education in Scottsdale, Arizona
The Pankey Institute in Key Biscayne, Florida
The Dawson Academy, with headquarters in Florida but training centers in various states
The Las Vegas Institute for Advanced Dental Studies in Las Vegas, Nevada
Piper Education and Research Center in Tampa, Florida

If they have training from one of these institutions, you will be in good hands.

This blog is brought to you by an understanding dentist in Moline, Dr. Thomas Goebel.