General Dentistry News
Serving Northern Virginia including Tysons Corner, Fairfax, Reston, Alexandria, Arlington, Washington D.C. and surrounding areas
Using Technology to Pinpoint the Problem
I.J. Hudson, Tech Reporter
Quyen Tran is being wired up so sensors can listen digitally for abnormal sounds in her jaw, track jaw movement, and measure the strength of various muscles.
Tran is a patient of Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Michael Chung of Softouch Dental Care in Oakton, Va. Tran says she’s been having headaches and other problems. “It seems like my mouth is working harder than before and that’s what I've been noticing. And also, I get tenseness on the back of my neck." Tran hopes Dr. Chung can help.
Dr. Chung practices Neuromuscular Dentistry, and uses a lot of technology to take the guesswork out of the diagnosis. Chung gave me a description of what the tests, including electro sonography, a way to analyze vibrations in the joints. "When I have the patient open and close, it will pick up any kind of noises, vibrations, any things we normally can't hear. It will pick these up and basically almost like a seismograph type of thing," says Chung. Smooth lines on the big screen mean proper functioning; popping and clicking joints create a big response on the screen. Another test, surface electromyography, is much like an EKG, but on the major muscles that control the posturing, opening and closing of the mouth. As muscles fire, the lines on the monitor shoot up.
Dr. Chung also looks at joints much like an orthopedic surgeon might look at knees and shoulder. But Chung uses a Tomogram machine. It's almost like a mini MRI - the patient positioned using light beams, then the machine rotates around the patient's head. It creates digital slices to help determine the health of the joint.
Dr. Chung says his tests often show that a simple appliance can correct problems, but it is complicated technology that helps make it easier to sort everything out - less guesswork. "I'm not sitting there subjectively thinking, ‘I think it might be this muscle that's causing you the problem. Or this may be causing you the problem.’ I know for a fact which muscle it is, left side right side - the exact number to the degree that it is bothering that patient."
Technology - helping medicine pinpoint the source of problems and providing data to fix them.
Copyright 2006 by nbc4.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Oakton, VA 22124
