We also want to teach you to recognize the symptoms early and manage them yourself once we give you the tools to do so. This condition can often recur later on but early care can minimize the severity. The basic philosophy of treatment is to do the conservative and reversible treatments first. Irreversible treatments , such as surgery or orthodontics, are only considered if conservative steps have failed to bring lasting relief. These more radical treatments are rarely used.
Most patients respond well to simpler care.
Occlusal Splint - Also called a night guard, or the new FDA approved NTI Device, are is designed to protect the teeth from further wear. These also will reduce the severity of grinding at night and allow the muscles to rest. In more severe cases it needs to be worn all day as well to allow the TMJs and muscles to rest. T he NTI Device is much easier to wear than traditional night guards and is fit to your teeth in only one appointment. It attaches to your front two teeth only and does not allow the posterior teeth to touch at all.