Difference Between General Dentistry & Neuromuscular Dentistry

Latest Dental News: All about Cosmetic Dentistry

General dentistry and Professional dental practitioners are referred to as dentists. General dentistry involves the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of a wide variety of conditions, disorders and diseases that affect your teeth, gums and jaw. General dentists also provide services related to the general maintenance of your tooth health and overall oral hygiene.

Dentistry is ideally thought to be a means of preventative care. You should visit the dentist regularly, at least once every six months, according to the American Dental Association (ADA). With routine checkups, you can help ensure your oral health and functionality of your teeth, gums and joints. By staying on top of your oral hygiene, you can also prevent the development of significant dental problems that require extensive and expensive treatment.

Neuromuscular dentistry
While general dentistry focuses on the teeth and joints, while neuromuscular dentistry also takes into consideration your nerves, muscles and the proper position of your jaw.

Neuromuscular dentistry recognizes that your teeth, mouth and jaw joints, muscles, and nerves all work together to properly align you jaw. If any of these elements fail to uphold their role, the result will be a misaligned or “bad bite” called a malocclusion.

A malocclusion can result in a series of problems such as:

• Temporomandibular joint disorder (TMJ/TMD)
• Tooth grinding, resulting in loose and damaged teeth
• Significant pain
• Damaged and failed dental restorations
• Pain in your face, neck, back, shoulders and/or arms
• Migraines
• Ringing in your ears
• Vertigo

An emerging field of dentistry, neuromuscular dentistry uses your ideal bite position to restore your body’s structural and postural balance. Together, these methods can help allevaite the above problems. This field of dentistry can also significantly improve posture throughout your entire skeletal structure, thereby solving lifelong, chronic pain for some patients.

Cosmetic Dentistry
Cosmetic dentistry goes a step beyond general dentistry. Besides focusing on your optimum oral health, cosmetic dentistry adds an element of art to enhance the appearance of your smile.

Because cosmetic dentistry involves the same functional requirements as general dentistry, the cosmetic dentist must ensure these are accomplished before aesthetic treatments can begin.

Therefore, dentists who practice cosmetic dentistry have the knowledge of general dentistry and a passion for the appearance of a durable, functional and beautiful smile.

With a vast number of technological advancements in the field of cosmetic dentistry, these dentists must be able to use breakthrough restorative techniques and materials with ease. Because of this, cosmetic dentists must undergo a significant amount of extra training.

Which dentist to see?
Many people assume that they can visit their family dentist for a new smile, or to alleviate the pain caused by TMD. But, unfortunately, cosmetic and neuromuscular dentistry are not generally taught in dental schools as part of the normal curriculum.

A dentist can graduate from most dental schools and pass the board exams without any knowledge of aesthetics or the ins and outs of your jaw-to-skull relationship.

If you are looking to enhance the appearance of your smile, or relieve pain from a TMD-caused migraine, you should research the appropriate specialist in your area.

Source: How Does Neuromuscular Dentistry Differ From General and Cosmetic Dentistry?

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