Welcome to the most under diagnosed and treated aspect of dental disease, the unbalanced bite or unbalanced "occlusion." As a cosmetic dentist and implant dentist in the Charlotte, North Carolina area I have treated many people with cosmetic dentistry and dental implants that had very damaging and painful bites or occlusion. It was imperative that before doing any final cosmetic and implant care I gave them a stress-free jaw position, relaxed and pain-free facial muscles and a bite or occlusion that would promote long-term health rather than long-term disease in their mouth. If you are being treated by a cosmetic dentist or implant dentist and your unbalanced and damaging bite is not eliminated, you are doomed to continuous dental problems and treatment. Implant and cosmetic dentistry will not look and feel right and will fail instead of lasting the rest of your life. An excellent cosmetic dentist or implant dentist must be an excellent TMJ dentist or neuromuscular dentist. An excellent cosmetic dentist and implant dentist will eliminate unbalanced and harmful bites (bad occlusion) before completing cosmetic and implant care. I have a lot to offer my Charlotte, North Carolina patients with my unique TMJ and neuromuscular experience and training in New York. (Whether I am performing cosmetic, implant or routine dental care I consider myself a holistic dentist first. My goal is to give each patient a disease-free mouth in complete functional and cosmetic balance using the highest quality biocompatible materials. Special care is taken to ensure proper function and comfort of the TMJ (jaw joint) and jaw muscles (neuromuscular dentist).)

I am amazed at the number of Charlotte, N.C. area patients that come to me with damage from unbalanced bites. There are two general concerns about an unbalanced bite: 1) damage to the TMJ (jaw joint) and 2) damage to the teeth, bone and gums in the mouth. First, concerning the jaw joint or TMJ, if the bite is not in harmony with the anatomically correct jaw position, the opening and closing muscles of the jaw will be stressed and the jaw will not be properly aligned in the jaw joint (temporomandibular joint or TMJ (see below)). This can cause all sorts of pain, fatigue and damage to the jaw muscle, tendons, ligaments and joint itself (TMJ). Over time the damage to this neuromuscular system is irreversible.

Besides damage to the TMJ, the second problem with an unbalanced bite is the damage it causes to the teeth, bone and gums of my North and South Carolina patients. Incorrect forces on the teeth causes will cause:

• Worn and flattened teeth and fillings
• Fractured teeth and fillings
• Cracks in teeth
• Pain and sensitivity when biting
• Pain and sensitivity to hot or cold foods and drinks
• Loose teeth and fillings
• Bone loss around the teeth (deep gum pockets)
• Cavities and root canal infection
  

The following are pictures of teeth that I routinely see in the mouths of my charlotte, n.c. area patients. The damage to these teeth was caused by unbalanced bites. I routinely check for unbalanced bites and do a sophisticated examination and treatment to correct the problem. This level of exam and treatment should often times be completed before any cosmetic, dental implant or routine dental therapy is undertaken.

(Click on photos to enlarge)