When you book an appointment with us for a TMJ assessment, you will first complete our comprehensive questionnaire, prior to your appointment.
The diagnostic procedure begins with documenting your medical history, which will include all past medical and dental problems and associated treatments. A history of your trauma will also be obtained, especially those relating to your head or neck.
Questions will also be asked about your symptoms, especially any problems with pain or your jaw, including details about the nature and duration of these symptoms.
For a TMJ problem a physical examination will likely include:
- A postural exam to discover any musculoskeletal problems that either contribute to, or are the result of, TMJ problems. This includes scoliosis, lower back pain and short leg syndrome, among others.
- Functional examinations to evaluate swallowing, breathing and chewing, among others.
- Screening for sleep disorders to evaluate if sleep apnea is present and further diagnosis is required.
- A dental examination to evaluate the shape of the dental arches, tooth wear or fractures, missing teeth, existing dental restorations or other clues to the problem.
- A neurologic examination to evaluate for nerve damage that may be related to your symptoms.
- A TMJ examination to look at the range of motion, gait, speed and smoothness of jaw movement. Additionally, the TM joints will be checked for internal derangement, joint inflammation, pain and the presence of joint sounds.
- A Joint Vibrational Analysis (JVA), a non-invasive technology that records the vibrations made by joint tissues during movement. The patterns and electronic signature of your joints are compared with known standards for healthy joints.
Based on the findings, further testing might be required, which might include imaging or other tests.
Imaging:
Depending on the nature and severity of the problem, we might order specific imaging for the evaluation of hard tissues (bone and teeth) and airway. Our office uses state-of-the-art imaging modality: Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT).
A CBCT is a compact, faster and safer version of a medical grade CT scan. The time needed for a full scan is typically under 20 seconds and the radiation dosage is up to a hundred times less than that of a regular medical CT scan.