Pain has to start somewhere. There has to be a tissue in which it originates. 90% of head and neck pain originates in muscle. Nerves are involved since nerves innervate our muscles but most pain originates in muscle.

The lower jaw is the only part of the human body that gets positioned by where teeth come together. And the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) that attaches our lower jaw to our head is the only joint in the human body that gets positioned by where teeth come together.

If our bite aligns the lower jaw incorrectly, yet the muscles of the head and neck still have to support and stabilize the jaw in that position – they can fatigue, stress or spasm. We experience muscle hypertonicity. Our muscles are always on, always hot, always firing. Even when they should be resting.

If this persists, the pain receptors embedded in the connective tissue embedded in our muscles, initiate pain. The hypertonic muscles give noxious signals to the nerves that innervate them and the nerves fire. It becomes a vicious cycle of pain from muscles and nerves.

And if the bite aligns the temporomandibular joint(s) incorrectly, it can cause clicking, popping, locking and joint damage.

Our bite can be off as little as a few tenths of a millimeter and still cause the muscles to fire. This tiny discrepancy is enough to upset this delicate system and create pain.

MIRO Therapy® utilizes a virtually invisible, precision aligner to maintain the bite, head, neck and jaw in the proper alignment where the muscles and joints function normally. Over time the muscles, joints and nerves heal… returning to normal function. The pain is reduced or resolved completely.

Requirements for successful treatment

To achieve superior treatment results, insight into TMJ physiology has to be superior. Thus, we must learn things others don’t, see things differently and do a better job of analyzing them – ideally all three.

The relationship between tissue (muscle, nerve, bone) and function (movement and bite relationship) holds the ultimate key to treatment success. Ignoring mandibular function rarely works out well.

Most doctors are simplistic, preoccupied with medication and relief of symptoms. Some gain further insight and learn it’s important to understand physiology and function. But it’s the rare clinician who achieves a sophistication required to appreciate the subtle differences in mandibular position, a key element in the production or relief of pain.

Many professionals, doctors and dentists alike – assume that the human body runs on orderly processes that can be mastered and predicted. They ignore the randomness of things that underly the human condition. Thus, they opt to have their actions focused on the one scenario they predict will succeed, be it prescription drugs, surgery, shots or generic splints. This works sometimes in the short run – winning kudos for the doctor – but not consistently enough to produce long-term success.

Only professionals with unusual insight can regularly and consistently achieve positive, long-term relief of temporomandibular joint pain and its dysfunction. This simple description of the requirements for successful treatment – based on the understanding of human physiology and function and the range of possible outcomes – captures the elements that should receive your and their attention. At the Atlanta Center for TMJ, we find it a challenging, exciting and thought-provoking journey. MIRO Therapy® is our unique contribution to this journey.