One of the treatment options that Dr. Hoffmeier prescribes for patients with TMJ pain, anxiety, headaches, and related disorders is biodynamic craniosacral therapy.
What is Biodynamic Craniosacral therapy?
It is the practice of treating dysfunctions in the body by means of a very gentle touch on the patient's head, mouth, feet, etc. In the field of energy medicine, biodynamic craniosacral therapy treats body dysfunctions addressing the central nervous system (CNS) and its relationship to all other systems of the body in order to promote healing.
What is the procedure of treatment?
The relationship between body and mind exists and this relationship is crucial for the healing of any part of the body. During a biodynamic craniosacral treatment Dr. Hoffmeier uses very light touch to establish contact with the structures of the patient's head, mouth, feet, etc., in order to determine what structures need attention to help healing, realignment and relief of discomfort. Working using the biodynamic therapy approach is a process of helping the patients bring up their natural resources.
What is TMJ?
The temporomandibular joint (TMJ) is a structural landmark formed by the meeting of a small area of the bones on the side of the skull (temporal bones) and a portion of the the lower jaw bone (condyles) plus cartilage and ligaments. You can feel that area when you place your fingers right in front of your ears while you gently open and close your mouth. Those structures are supposed to function together in a clever way with the participation of a range of muscles. Pain radiating from those muscles is a common temporomandibular dysfunction (TMD) complaint and can be severely debilitating.
Often when people have TMJ dysfunction, or syndrome, they have other problems such as ringing in the ear, frequent headaches, jaw "popping", dizziness, facial pain, neck pain, anxiety, sinusitis, stress, teeth grinding, sensitive teeth, even difficulty walking, just to mention a few, since the symptoms associated with TMJ syndrome are many. Those conditions are frequently interconnected and a detailed detective work is required in order to sort out the cause of the problem. Biodynamic craniosacral therapy is one of the treatments of choice in our practice to address those conditions.
In our practice, when a patient undergoes treatment for some of the conditions related to temporomandibular dysfunction, the treatment initially consists of a comprehensive oral examination, and a craniosacral evaluation. At some point molds are taken of the patient's teeth and stone models are prepared and mounted on an articulator, which is a device that helps to study how the patient's teeth meet together. Subsequently, any bite interference is eliminated and restoration of any broken teeth is addressed. The treatment of TMJ conditions usually takes multiple visits and biodynamic craniosacral therapy work is incorporated throughout the sequence of treatment.
If a patient presents with TMJ related pain, the pain can be because of a dysfunction on the TMJ and its surroundings or it can be due to a dysfunction in other parts of the body. All parts of the body are connected, and sometimes a dysfunction in one area is a result of a problem situated in an area of the body that is not near where the pain is felt, but elsewhere.
Holistic Dentistry
Sandra C. Hoffmeier, DDS, New York City Restorative, Cosmetic and Biodynamic Dentistry