Photos by Ray Bryant, Bryant Studios
Jim has had a lifetime of wear and tear along with single tooth dentistry.
His wife suggested he do something about his aging smile. He was restored with rejuvenation dentistry using a mix of ceramic, implants and
injection bonding.
Doctors are taught techniques to address their patient’s problems from a
perspective of understanding exactly how the mouth and jaw function.
Attendees learn techniques to stabilize the condyle, correct form and occlusion and restore proper vertical dimension of the teeth with minimally invasive techniques.
8 NORTH TEXAS DENTISTRY | www.northtexasdentistry.com
Suzanne suffered from severe facial tension, clenching and headaches.
She was losing bone around her teeth, not from gum disease, but from the
uneven forces placed upon her teeth, gums, and bone by malocclusion.
Her condyles were stabilized with orthotic therapy and then her mouth
rejuvenated. The results speak for themselves.
The co-founders of The Texas Center call this approach ‘rejuvenation dentistry’ because it returns the patient to the biological norm
that existed before the underlying cause for failure developed.
The Texas Center for Occlusal Studies offers a program of
instruction to dentists, dental technicians, and other dental professionals that focuses on the benefits of rejuvenation dentistry.
“The cornerstone of restoring biological balance to the chewing
system is a solid, harmonious occlusion,” notes Daniel
O’Rourke, CDT. “By teaching treatments that address the four
key elements of proper occlusion – position of the temporomandibular joint, the form of the bite, the form of the teeth, and
the airway – we can get the patient out of pain, improve aesthetics, and restore proper function so that the system does not
fall into a downward spiral of deterioration. We often accomplish this utilizing minimally invasive restorative techniques.”
Rejuvenation dentistry is based on the work of Dr. Bob Lee, who
began looking at the function of healthy mouths as a way of
more thoroughly understanding the causative foundations of
oral pathology. “When the Secret Service trains employees to
identify counterfeit bills, they start by asking students to carefully study authentic currency,” notes Dr. Stewart. “In the same
vein, by understanding healthy biologic systems functioning at
an optimum level, like the bodies of Olympic athletes, we can
cultivate a more complete understanding of function than by
limiting our explorations to pathology alone.”
Millions of Americans suffer from TM dysfunction and even
more from myofascial pain dysfunction. TMJ and myofascial
pain dysfunction affect both men and women with a greater
prevalence among women. Despite the prevalence of this condition, there is no formal residency training in TMJ disease for
dentists. Dr. Stewart, Dr. Herre, and Daniel O’Rourke, CDT