TMJ Dysfunction and Its Causes

Are you suffering from moderate to severe pain in your temple, ear, neck or shoulder? Does your jaw pop or click when you chew? If so, you could be suffering from TMJ dysfunction.

There’s so single cause for TMJ dysfunction—it’s different for every patient. In some cases, it may be a result of improper bite or stress. In others, your pain could be related to a recent injury. Regardless of the cause, you don’t have to live with your pain—it can be treated. And one way Dr. Johnson and the team at our Houston office is helping patients is with an orthotic appliance known as a splint.

Treating TMJ Dysfunction with a Splint

Using your medical history and detailed information about your jaw as a guide, our Houston office’s lab will create a custom made splint for your teeth. Depending on how severe your symptoms are, you might only need to wear your splint at night, while some patients many need to wear one at all times.

The purpose of a splint is to retrain your jaw so that it comes together exactly where it needs to. But it does more than just reprogram your muscles. It also brings relief from painful symptoms like headache, jaw clicking, and teeth grinding, among others.

In many cases, a splint is all that’s needed to help patients treat their TMJ dysfunction, while others may need additional, long-term treatment.

Comfortable Relief For Your Smile

If you have questions about TMJ dysfunction and want to know more about splints, or if you simply want to schedule your next appointment with Dr. Johnson, give our Houston office a call today.

Invisalign Braces from Dr. Johnson

It’s estimated that one in five orthodontic patients is an adult. But does that mean these patients are trading a grown-up appearance for a smile full of metal and wire? Not if they’re using Invisalign clear braces from Dr. Johnson’s Houston office.

With Invisalign, Dr. Johnson can help you straighten uneven teeth without traditional braces, which can compromise your professional image. And because there’s nothing for us to tighten, the whole process has never been more comfortable or convenient for our patients.

A Clear Alternative for Your Smile

Transforming your smile begins with a consultation visit at our Houston office, which gives us a chance to get a thorough look at the shape of your teeth. When we’re ready to actually plan your Invisalign treatment, special 3D computer imaging software will help us create a comprehensive path for you to follow.

Once your plan is in place and your clear acrylic aligners are back from the lab, all you have to do is wear each one for a period of two weeks. As you wear them, continuous yet gentle pressure is exerted on your teeth, shifting them into place over time.

But one of the biggest benefits for patients is that Invisalign clear braces are removable. You can take them out to eat, to brush and floss, and even for special occasions. After all, you don’t want to put your social life on hold just because you want a straighter smile.

And because there’s nothing for us to tighten, you’ll only need to see Dr. Johnson every four to six weeks so she can make sure your smile is progressing as it should.
To find out more about Invisalign, or to schedule a consultation appointment with Dr. Johnson, call our Houston office today.

Patients who want to revitalize a cracked, chipped, stained, or slightly misaligned smile can choose from any number of cosmetic therapies. But with porcelain veneers, you can have a confident new smile in just two visits.

Made of thin sheaths of durable dental porcelain, your veneers will be layered over the front of your teeth to enhance the appearance of your smile. They’re functional, natural-looking, and can be designed by Dr. Johnson to compliment your appearance and help you achieve the professional image you want to project.

How Porcelain Veneers Work

Your first appointment begins with a comprehensive oral exam, during which Dr. Johnson will talk with you about how you want your new smile to look. Using digital imaging, a diagnostic wax up, or before-and-after photos of previous patients, we can even show you what the results might look like and help you make your final decisions about the shape, color, and style of your veneers.

After we have a plan in place, we’ll take an impression of your teeth and gums—which we’ll send to our lab—and then apply the temporary veneers you’ll wear in the meantime while our lab technicians handcraft your veneers.

Once your finished veneers have been shipped back to our Houston office from our lab, all we have to do is remove your temporary veneers and put your finished ones in place. At the end of your appointment, you’ll leave with a shapely, confident smile you can look forward to enjoying for years to come.

A New Smile in Two Visits

Our office serves patients in River Oaks, Bellaire, Memorial Park, West U, and Houston. To learn more about porcelain veneers, or to schedule an appointment with Dr. Johnson, please give us a call today.

With porcelain veneers, you can have the dazzling smile you deserve.

If your smile is incomplete, you can have restored function and improved appearance with an All-on-4 dental implant bridge.

Like traditional bridges, an All-on-4 dental implant bridge replaces multiple teeth, and in just one visit. And because All-on-4s utilize four implants, two of which are angled, you can have immediately improved function and experience a faster bonding process between implant and bone tissue.

Finally, a reason to smile again!

Rock-Solid Support for Your New Smile

But before we can begin your procedure, Dr. Johnson has to determine if you’re a candidate for All-on-4 dental implants. This means taking a close look at your teeth, gums, and bone structure with high resolution photos, digital X-rays, a 3D CAT scan, and a thorough oral exam.

If everything looks good in the diagnostic phase of the procedure, Dr. Johnson can place your implants and custom-made replacement teeth all in the same visit. And because All-on-4s use four biocompatible titanium posts to replace your missing roots, you can look forward to stronger smile that looks as natural as it feels.

A Smile That Will Last for Years to Come

With All-on-4s, you can finally enjoy the smile you’ve been missing. Even if you only need to replace one tooth instead of full row, our office can help. We offer traditional dental implants as well as Nobel Biocare’s revolutionary All-on-4s, meaning we can replace a single tooth or your whole smile.

Serving patients in River Oaks, Bellaire, Memorial Park, West U, and Houston, our office can help you reclaim your smile. Contact us to schedule a consultation appointment with Dr. Johnson.

 Veneers • Invisalign

Whitening • Smile Makeovers

“Everyday I see the difference dentistry can make in people’s lives, whether it’s an executive growing more confident as a leader, or just someone who feels good smiling around other people for the first time,” Dr. Johnson says. “A brilliant smile changes not only the face, but the person inside, instilling new confidence that affects social and professional arenas unimaginably.”

*  Click  here for an Appointment  (or)  Call us at (713) 526.2904  *

 

Cosmetic Dentist: Barbara Johnson, DDS

Voted a Top Cosmetic Dentist in Houston…  For Dr. Barbara Johnson, dentistry provides the perfect platform to pursue a life-long passions for art & science.

A native of Poland who came to the United States at age 14, Dr. Johnson earned her dental degree, practiced in New York for eight years where she received “Best of Big Apple” two years in a row, and then established her Houston cosmetic dental practice in 2004. Since then, H Texas magazine has named her a top dentist in Houston, Tx.

Houston Cosmetic Dentist, Dr. Johnson graduated with advanced orthodontics and orthodontic surgery training from Stony Brook University School of Dental Medicine. She completed internships and residencies in orthodontics at Montefiore Medical Center, oral surgery at Nassau County Medical Center, and aesthetic dentistry, orthodontics, and dental implants at New York Hospital Medical Center of Queens.

She has postgraduate education in aesthetics, orthodontics, and implants from the New York University College of Dentistry, Columbia University School of Dental and Oral Surgery and Long Island Jewish Medical Center. Dr. Johnson primarily practices as a Cosmetic Dentist since she has moved to Houston.

A strong believer in giving back to the community that supports her practice, Dr. Johnson provides pro bono dental services for children and young adults with missing teeth. She has written for several publications, including the New York State Dental Journal. She is a member of the Texas Dental Association, Greater Houston Dental Society, American Academcy of Cosmetic Dentistry, American Academy of Implant Dentistry & so on ~ she’s over qualified!

Dr. Johnson is married to Brian Johnson, whom she met while snowboarding in Park City, Utah. In addition to winter sports, she’s an avid wakeboarder & enjoys writing screenplays and listening to her favorite musical artists, Linkin Park and Jack Johnson.

*  Click  here for an Appointment  (or)  Call us at (713) 526.2904  *

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 Veneers • Invisalign

Whitening • Smile Makeovers

“Everyday I see the difference dentistry can make in people’s lives, whether it’s an executive growing more confident as a leader, or just someone who feels good smiling around other people for the first time,” Dr. Johnson says. “A brilliant smile changes not only the face, but the person inside, instilling new confidence that affects social and professional arenas unimaginably.”

*  Click  here for an Appointment  (or)  Call us at (713) 526.2904  *

 

Cosmetic Dentist: Barbara Johnson, DDS

Voted a Top Cosmetic Dentist in Houston…  For Dr. Barbara Johnson, dentistry provides the perfect platform to pursue a life-long passions for art & science.

A native of Poland who came to the United States at age 14, Dr. Johnson earned her dental degree, practiced in New York for eight years where she received “Best of Big Apple” two years in a row, and then established her Houston cosmetic dental practice in 2004. Since then, H Texas magazine has named her a top dentist in Houston, Tx.

Houston Cosmetic Dentist, Dr. Johnson graduated with advanced orthodontics and orthodontic surgery training from Stony Brook University School of Dental Medicine. She completed internships and residencies in orthodontics at Montefiore Medical Center, oral surgery at Nassau County Medical Center, and aesthetic dentistry, orthodontics, and dental implants at New York Hospital Medical Center of Queens.

She has postgraduate education in aesthetics, orthodontics, and implants from the New York University College of Dentistry, Columbia University School of Dental and Oral Surgery and Long Island Jewish Medical Center. Dr. Johnson primarily practices as a Cosmetic Dentist since she has moved to Houston.

A strong believer in giving back to the community that supports her practice, Dr. Johnson provides pro bono dental services for children and young adults with missing teeth. She has written for several publications, including the New York State Dental Journal. She is a member of the Texas Dental Association, Greater Houston Dental Society, American Academcy of Cosmetic Dentistry, American Academy of Implant Dentistry & so on ~ she’s over qualified!

Dr. Johnson is married to Brian Johnson, whom she met while snowboarding in Park City, Utah. In addition to winter sports, she’s an avid wakeboarder & enjoys writing screenplays and listening to her favorite musical artists, Linkin Park and Jack Johnson.

*  Click  here for an Appointment  (or)  Call us at (713) 526.2904  *

↑ Grab this Headline Animator

I’ve been practicing dentistry for greater than 10 years, though one could never tell by my youthful looks ;) so I have seen the paradigm shift from bridges & missing teeth to dental implants. Often times, I will see a patient for the first time & they already know that they want dental implants. They’ve done research on the internet so they’ve learned about bone collapse, increased periodontal disease & life limiting concerns that are associated with non-implant treatment options. I’ve even seen a patient that went as far as to recommend Nobel Biocare Implants. Now that’s just too far, but I would rather practice dentistry on patients that are well informed in contrast to the opposite.  

I made a promise to my patients to publish weekly blogs so this is first in a series of many to come. However, if I don’t get any suggestions from the audience, I may have to write a blog about patients! Of course I would disclose their names. Till next time.

B