About 10 million Americans are suffering from Temporomandibular Joint Disorder (TMJ) pain today. For many people, the pain of TMJ may be so severe that daily living is interrupted. When you’re dealing with TMJ symptoms, you may miss work, social activities, and even sleep. If you’re suffering from TMJ, you’re undoubtedly wishing for a solution that really works — and it’s now available thanks to neural therapy. Dr. Sheilds is proud to offer this non-invasive TMJ pain management solution at her dental practice in Jacksonville, Florida. 

TMJ Pain — and What You Can Do About It

The temporomandibular joint keeps the jaw and skull connected, but in TMJ the joint can’t move like it should. While normal actions like opening and closing your mouth shouldn’t cause pain normally, a person who develops TMJ can suffer terribly every time they move their jaw. You may also have headaches, face pain, neck pain, and even shoulder pain as a result of TMJ.

One of the TMJ treatment options is oral medications like anti-inflammatory drugs or painkillers. This option isn’t a good long-term solution for a couple of reasons. First, oral medication only lasts for a few hours at a time. Once the drugs wear off, you’ll be in just as much pain (maybe more) than you were before. Additionally, many medications can become habit forming — and that’s unquestionably bad for overall health and wellness. Oral medications also do nothing to get to the bottom of the problem. They’re a temporary bandage rather than a true treatment.

Surgery is another option for TMJ symptom relief, but since surgery can require major recovery time most patients want to avoid surgery if at all possible. Neural therapy offers a non-invasive solution that really works — and it can be done in short sessions at Smiles by Shields in Jacksonville, Florida. 

How Neural Therapy Works in TMJ Treatment

Before beginning neural therapy, Dr. Shields will take a complete medical history, including dental history, so she can isolate the cause of your TMJ. Using this information, Dr. Shields will administer injections called prolozone, which are a combination of procaine (an anesthetic) and ozone (oxygenation for mouth tissues.)

Prolozone injections are placed directly in the interference fields, the areas where the TMJ pain occurs. The injections alleviate the disturbance and prompt the body to use its own natural healing abilities. You’ll usually have a short series of injections, spaced out over a couple of weeks, to help trigger optimal healing.

Many patients who have undergone neural therapy for TMJ symptoms experience dramatic pain relief very quickly. One of the best things about neural therapy for TMJ is that the effects can get better with each treatment. While the pain relief is temporary — usually lasting for anywhere from days to weeks at the beginning — your pain relief is likely to last longer and longer with each subsequent treatment. Since the injections are safe and cause no damage to your body, you can have as many neural therapy treatments as needed to achieve long-term pain relief. Some patients have as little as one injection before they achieve the relief they’re searching for.

Neural therapy offers a natural solution that can actually give you long-term relief from TMJ pain. There are no drugs needed, and no surgery required. If you’re looking for a natural solution that’s completely non-invasive, neural therapy may be the right choice for you.

Want to Learn More About How Neural Therapy Can Help With Your TMJ?

Dr. Tiffany Shields is a holistic dentist in Jacksonville, Florida and has dedicated her practice to providing safe and effective treatments for her patients. If you have spent years of your life in TMJ-related pain, don’t wait for another second, call our office to set up a consultation. With neural therapy, she will be able to eliminate the painful symptoms of this disorder.