TMJ & TMD Treatment
Pain Management

Serving Fresno, Reedley and surrounding areas

When Dr. Ikuta determines that your symptoms are being caused by TMJ / TMD, there are three major steps he will take to start relieving your pain and treating the disease.

1. Relieve Pain and Muscle Spasms - Before your diagnosis, you probably lived with chronic pain and muscle tension for a long time. That is why our immediate focus will be to treat your symptoms. We will do this using Ultra Low Frequency Transcutaneous Electrical Neural Stimulation (ULF-TENS). Don't be intimidated by the sound of it; it's basically a way to gently massage your stressed muscles. As it relaxes those muscles, it will also increase blood flow, help release toxins and stimulate your body's endorphin production, which is a natural anesthetic.
2. Stabilize Your Bite - To begin realigning your bite into the correct position, we will use a temporary orthotic (bite positioner). The orthotic will be worn over your teeth and can be easily adjusted until your bite is stabilized. Once this step is complete, Dr. Ikuta can begin the process of adjusting your bite through permanent dental work.
3. Permanently Correct Your Bite - Depending on the severity of your malocclusion, there are many ways that we can permanently adjust your bite.
• Smooth and reshape your enamel - this method (called a coronoplasty) can be used if your bite is only slightly misaligned
• Permanent orthotics - overlay partials that will fit over your back teeth and maintain the correct positioning of your bite
• Full Mouth Reconstruction - an approach that uses porcelain crowns and other restorative procedures to permanently realign the bite and structurally support the jaw
• Braces - also called orthodontics, this method moves your teeth into their optimal position

If you are located in the Fresno, Visalia or Reedley, California area and believe you have TMJ / TMD, you should contact us today to schedule a complimentary consultation. You deserve a healthy, beautiful smile and we look forward to providing it for you.

To learn more about TMJ/TMD and neuromuscular dentistry, please visit the following pages on our website:

• Neuromuscular Dentistry
• TMJ/TMD Symptoms
• TMJ/TMD Headaches/Migraines
• Diagnosis
• TMJ/TMD FAQ