Tag: Atlanta TMJ Dentist
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Sleep like a baby, and breathe through your nose! Oral taping reduces snoring and sleep apnea
Does your mouth fall open during sleep? Do you snore or stop breathing throughout the night? Take a tip from a baby to sleep well, and breathe through your nose! Oral taping is the trendy way of keeping your mouth closed all night – so you can sleep like a baby! Babies are obligate nasal…
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TMJ | TMD Bite Therapy
Does your jaw hurt? Do you have pain when you chew? Do you have recurring headaches or chronic neck pain? Call now for an appointment! 770-393-9201 Contact Us Now! While there is no true recognized specialty of dentistry in TMJ management, Dr. Caughey is specially trained in creating an accurate diagnosis and in selecting…
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Referring a Patient for IPT (Integrative Postural Therapy)
We are often asked two questions: what is IPT (Integrative Postural Therapy), and once I have identified that my patient needs that integrated care, what tips could you give me for referring a patient for IPT? IPT (Integrative Postural Therapy) is the combined patient care of dentistry + physical therapy, founded by Elizabeth Caughey DDS…
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Caughey & Cantrell teach IPT in Apex, NC
After three years of practicing dentistry and physical therapy side by side, Elizabeth Caughey DDS & Mike Cantrell MPT PRC teach their inaugural two day IPT (Integrative Physical Therapy) course in Apex NC. In attendance were 8 dentists and 7 physical therapists – including a pediatric dentists and pediatric PT, and one physical therapy student!…
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Tongue Tie surgery Improves Growth and Development; could prevent TMJ and Sleep Apnea!
Tongue tie surgery can be life altering; it can promote a young person’s growth and development. The Definition Ankyloglossia is the medical term for tongue tie — a condition that can be as mild as slightly limiting a tongue’s range of motion to causing speech and swallowing pathologies, underdevelopment of the mouth, and potentially sleep…
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Using a splint as a Tongue Retraining Program
Using a splint as a tongue retraining program can be a challenge. Bite splints are indicated for a number of reasons, and one such is a R TMCC pattern with a loss of cervical lordosis. Guiding the patient to have smooth easy protrusive movement over a mandibular splint can create a healthy cervical lordotic curve,…
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Splint design on Neck outcomes: Dr Caughey speaks at the GDA Annual Meeting
As a 17 year long member of the Georgia Dental Association, Dr Caughey attended at the GDA Annual Meeting in an enjoyable way; sharing community and learning with local colleagues. This year Dr. Caughey was invited to speak to the audience on the relationship of bite splint designs and their effect on the cervical spine (neck)…
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ALF as Airway Appliance
Can an orthodontic appliance like the ALF serve to open the airway? We think so! This diagram shows the anatomical relationship between the roof of the mouth (palatine and maxillae bones) and the base of the nose. If an ALF Advanced Lightwire Fuctional appliance can gently spread these maxillae and palatine sutures,…
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Splint Repair and Tips
Ideally the splint is designed to prevent failures from happening. But when they do, it is good to be able to understand how and why the failure occurred, and to know what to do about it. Splint repair and tips to prevent failure are helpful to predict and manage the occasional difficulties in splint therapy. Understanding…
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JVA: Screening tool for TMJ Dysfunction
The JVA is a screening tool for TMJ Dysfunction. The Joint Vibration Analysis is an instrument resembling a set of headphones, but instead of listening to music, it listens to the jaw joints. A healthy jaw joint creates very little friction, whereas a damaged joint is noisier. Depending on the type of vibration created, a…
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Splint for Canine Transposition
Canine transposition means the canines are in the position of missing lateral incisors — or in the switched position of upper premolars. This rare but non pathologic variation of tooth position can be challenging to determine how the biting forces should be spread across the teeth. In general, a splint for canine transposition can be managed…
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Advanced Lightwire Functional (ALF) Appliance
I spent the past 2 days in ALF (Advanced Lightwire Functional) appliance training with Dr. Mike Hoefs. Dentistry in America is continuously recognizing new heroes, who have bravely look at the way the teeth are connected to the rest of the body — Dr. Hoefs is one such hero of mine! Wow! The science behind this…
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Splint for Posterior Open Bite
Patients managing an airway problem with night-time use of a mandibular advancement device may develop a posterior open bite. Attempting to reapproximate the posterior teeth in this occlusal distortion involves mandible retrusion and OA flexion, thus reversing the natural lordosis of the neck. Accurately mounted study models taken after the cervical curvature has been supported…
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Sphenoid position | Splint design
Sphenoid position is a prominent feature of a R TMCC positional pattern. In that position, the greater wing of the sphenoid is more superior on the Right side, than on the Left. Without regard for the position a patient is in (R TMCC versus neutrality), even the most conscientious dentist will adjust a bite splint…
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Splint for Posterior Crossbite
Patients with bilateral posterior crossbites tend to have deep palates and bilaterally extended cervical chains. Depending on the degree of interdigitation of the teeth, the balancing interferences of the lingual cusps of the lower molars against the buccal cusps of the upper molars can make the canines out of position from a functional standpoint. …