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:
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.