BILATERAL FIXED OCCLUSAL SPLINTS  (BUILDUPS)

One of the most important things we do in our practice is the treatment of TMJ (Temporomandibular joint disorders, TMD)  These problems can cause the mandible to lock closed and the joint to click and pop.  This can cause extreme pain and suffering.  The TMJ is the most complicated joint in the entire body.  When you open about half way the joint acts like a ball and socket joint, just like your knee or elbow.  Then when you open past halfway your lower jaw has to actually slide forward.  The lower jaw moves "out of the socket".  This is the only joint in the body that does that.   It also  has three areas of articulation:  1.  the right joint 2.  the left joint 3.  the bite and the teeth.  If any of these three are out of balance then the whole system is out of balance and then the problems begin.  When we start orthodontic treatment in our office we place mounds of blue glue on the biting surfaces of the lower first molar teeth to separate the teeth.  This removes this third part of the chewing system so that the TMJs can move into their ideal positions without the interference of the bad bite.  As the bite comes together we remove these splints so that we can make the bite as perfect as possible.  These are a very annoying part of the treatment, but is probably one of the most important things we can do for the health of the jaws and bite.