The Mouth/Body Connection
Welcome to the Gelb Center, a practice known for pioneering a holistic approach to treating temporomandibular disorders and sleep disorders, as well as providing comprehensive dentistry. Recent studies show a connection between the mouth, heart disease, and stroke – and this could affect you. We want to show you the connections between dentistry and medicine, and we also want to identify the true source of your pain and dysfunction. Then we’ll find a solution that will give you the relief you deserve.
Our dentists are among the few in the country who can restore your teeth while maintaining balance in your facial muscles and joints. We work as detectives to establish whether tooth pain requires prosthetic dentistry or if it is a sign of TMD - temporomandibular dysfunction. Some of our patients’ teeth have shifted or over-adjusted, and they have lost their optimal bites.
There is also mounting evidence that periodontal disease is intimately connected with heart disease. Our hygienists are aware of this connection and will work with you to achieve optimal periodontal health.
Your body is one unit that functions at optimal capacity when all systems work in harmony – when all connections are in proper balance with one another. At the Gelb Center, we understand the relationship between dentistry and the whole body, and we want to help you feel great, look great, and live life to the fullest.
Call us today for your consultation.
HEADACHE (forehead)
90% of all headaches are tension-type headaches
that could stem from tension in the jaw. Frontal
headaches, which are headaches that occur in the
forehead, are very often referred up from the muscles
in the side of the neck called the sternocleidomastoids.
Headaches on the top of the head can be referred
from muscles on the back of the neck such as the
splenius capitis. There are also symptoms such as
top of the head being sensitive to touch and shooting
pain up the back of the head, which can be from
compressions of the nerves which sit in the occipital
region. Temporal headaches are very often a result
of clenching, but also referred pain from the trapezius
muscles. At the Gelb Center, we feel that Orofacial
Pain Dentists are amongst the best practitioners
to treat headache disorders, which have been unresponsive
to other therapies such as medications. By decompressing
the auriculotemporal nerve we are able to alleviate
most headaches. Click
here to read more.
EYE
Blurred vision is an often overlooked symptom of
TMD along with pain behind the eyes, bloodshot eyes
and sensitivity to sunlight. Click
here to read more.
HIGH UPPER AIRWAY RESISTANCE SYNDROME (nose)
Upper airway resistance syndrome or UARS is a term
that was coined by Christian Guilleminault from
Stanford University in Palo Alto. Women who have
UARS have all the symptoms of obstructive sleep
apnea, but without the apnea-hypopnea index and
without choking and gasping for air. There is a
resistance to breathing which results in frequent
arousals throughout the night, resulting in extreme
fatigue or extreme excessive daytime sleepiness.
A qualified sleep laboratory can make the diagnosis
of upper airway resistance syndrome or RERA, which
are respiratory effort related arousals. Click
here to read more.
HIGH UPPER AIRWAY RESISTANCE SYNDROME (nose)
Upper airway resistance syndrome or UARS is a term
that was coined by Christian Guilleminault from
Stanford University in Palo Alto. Women who have
UARS have all the symptoms of obstructive sleep
apnea, but without the apnea-hypopnea index and
without choking and gasping for air. There is a
resistance to breathing which results in frequent
arousals throughout the night, resulting in extreme
fatigue or extreme excessive daytime sleepiness.
A qualified sleep laboratory can make the diagnosis
of upper airway resistance syndrome or RERA, which
are respiratory effort related arousals. Click
here to read more.
INTEGRATED DENTISTRY (mouth)
Integrated Dentistry is the term used to describe
a different concept to the usual style of dentistry
practiced in the average dental surgeries in the
United States. Integrated Dentistry is best described
as: a comprehensive approach to dental health, making
use of the most up-to-date research and technologies
working hand-in-hand with the traditional knowledge
of the "alternative" approaches to health. The Integrated
approach to dentistry recognizes that everything
that is done to the teeth has an affect on the rest
of the body in various ways. Instead of looking
at the teeth as if they were independent of the
rest of the body, Integrated Dentistry investigates
the teeth, mouth, jaw joints, facial tissues, head
and neck all as integral parts of the entire body.
Click here to
read more.
COSMETIC DENTISTRY (mouth)
A smile can be the most eye-catching feature of
a face. With dentistry's many advances, you no longer
have to settle for stained, chipped, or misshapen
teeth. You now have choices that can help you smile
with confidence. Click
here to read more.
TEMPORAL TENDINITIS
The temporalis, a jaw closing muscle, attaches to
the coronoid process at the temporal tendon. With
chronic clenching the patient develops temporal
tendinitis which I call the “tennis elbow of the
jaw. It is treated with rest and steroid injections. Click
here to read more.
JAW AND MOUTH
Myofascial pain is a dull and aching pain in the
jaw and TMJ and is the number one reason patients
come to see us along with ear, nose, and throat
complaints. Sometimes the pain is caused by overuse
of the jaw clenching muscles. This is called temporal
tendonitis which is the tennis elbow of the jaw.
Patients often experience clicking in the jaw, a
jaw that feels locked or out of place or having
trouble opening, closing, or have malaligned teeth
or jaws. These are indications that the TMJ could
be inflamed, dislocated, or arthritic. Because of
estrogen receptors found in the TM joint, girls
and women going through hormonal changes are especially
susceptible to TMD. 90% of our patients are women,
40-50% going through perimenopause. Click
here to read more.
Click here to read more about TMJ.
AIRWAY (mouth)
Many difficulties start with airway obstruction.
Whether it is the structural way your body is built
such as a large tongue or long palate or a behavior
you have developed. Symptoms associated with TMD
appear as trouble swallowing, laryngitis, the feeling
of something caught in your throat, frequent coughing,
or sore throat with no infection. This is also where
sleep disorders show up. Particularly, sleep apnea
and high upper airway resistance. Click
here to read more.
VERTIGO (forehead)
Dr. John Beck, an orthopedist, feels that the TMJ
is the gyroscope of the body; which helps to orient
the vestibular system in the inner ears with vision
and proprioception. When the jaw is out of alignment
it puts pressure on the temporal bone which houses
the sensitive balance organs. Normalizing jaw alignment
with the Gelb Appliance or Mora often leads to a
correction of the malalignment of the balance organs.
Click here to read
more.
DIZZINESS (forehead)
Dizziness is a frequent complaint of our TMJ patients.
Travell describes postural dizziness relating to
the trigger point in the clavicular division of
the sternocleidomastoid muscle. These trigger points
also cause spatial disorientation. The Gelb Center
calls in a network of experts from various fields
of expertise as well as our In-House Sleep Center
and orofacial pain specialists. Diagnosis begins
the moment we meet you. Even how you smile can tell
us something. We pinpoint the true source of pain
and whenever possible, find a nonsurgical way for
you to help your body heal itself. Click
here to read more.
EAR
The temporal bone and the mandible form the temporomandibular
joint. Patients often come to us after visiting
an ear, nose, and throat doctor who has found his
exam to be normal. A nagging feeling of fullness
in the ears, like they will not clear or like you
are under water can actually be relieved by treating
the jaw. When the equilibrium in the jaw is off,
your can experience vertigo or dizziness. All the
above symptoms are part of the otomandibular syndrome,
which is one of our most common findings. Click
here to read more.
NECK AND BACK
The TMJ nerve, which is the trigeminal nerve, connects
neurophysiologically to the nerves of the cervical
spine, so that when the TM joint is overloaded or
inflamed, the neck muscles are also involved. When
the clenching muscles of the jaws are activated,
they also activate the muscles in the neck and shoulders,
which can be responsible for radiating pain down
the neck, shoulders, and into the back. Other patients
have a condition called fibromyalgia, which is responsible
for ongoing stiffness and sore, tired muscles and
this occurs when the jaw is aggravated and sleep
is disturbed. Arm and finger numbness or pain can
also occur. Click here
to read more.
NECK AND BACK
The TMJ nerve, which is the trigeminal nerve, connects
neurophysiologically to the nerves of the cervical
spine, so that when the TM joint is overloaded or
inflamed, the neck muscles are also involved. When
the clenching muscles of the jaws are activated,
they also activate the muscles in the neck and shoulders,
which can be responsible for radiating pain down
the neck, shoulders, and into the back. Other patients
have a condition called fibromyalgia, which is responsible
for ongoing stiffness and sore, tired muscles and
this occurs when the jaw is aggravated and sleep
is disturbed. Arm and finger numbness or pain can
also occur. Click here
to read more.
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