What Are Neuromuscular Orthodontics?
Neuromuscular orthodontics goes beyond traditional teeth straightening—it focuses on creating proper alignment between the teeth, jaw joints, and surrounding muscles. By correcting the bite at a functional level, this approach can help relieve jaw tension, improve facial symmetry, and enhance overall comfort. As part of our comprehensive dental care in Moore County, we use neuromuscular orthodontics to support better airway health and long-term stability. This advanced method is often integrated with TMJ treatment, helping patients find relief from jaw pain, headaches, and muscle strain while achieving a healthier, more balanced smile.
Benefits of Neuromuscular Orthodontics
While neuromuscular orthodontics can take time, the benefits are well worth the investment. This advanced approach to orthodontics improves not only the alignment of your teeth but also the way your entire jaw system functions—enhancing comfort, balance, and overall health.
Improved Facial Profile: Your jaw structure supports the lower portion of your face. By promoting proper jaw growth and alignment, neuromuscular orthodontics can improve your facial profile, reducing the appearance of a receding chin or sunken midface and creating a more balanced, confident look.
Expanded Airway and Better Breathing: Jaw and facial bone development directly affect the size and shape of your airway. Expanding these structures can open the airway, making breathing easier during the day and improving sleep quality by reducing or even eliminating sleep apnea.
More Room for Teeth and Tongue: By guiding jaw development, neuromuscular orthodontics creates the necessary space for crowded teeth and proper tongue placement. This leads to a naturally straight smile, better speech, and fewer problems with tongue or cheek biting.
Relief from TMJ Symptoms: Because neuromuscular orthodontics restores proper jaw alignment, it’s often used in TMJ treatment to relieve tension and restore normal function. Patients frequently experience relief from jaw pain, headaches, neck stiffness, and clicking or popping in the jaw joint.
Who Is a Good Candidate for Neuromuscular Orthodontics?
Neuromuscular orthodontics is ideal for patients who need more than cosmetic teeth straightening—it’s designed for those whose jaw alignment or muscle function affects comfort, appearance, or overall health. Candidates often experience symptoms linked to jaw imbalance, such as headaches, facial pain, clicking or popping in the jaw, or tension in the neck and shoulders. Others may notice signs like a receding chin, narrow airway, or crowded teeth that make chewing or speaking uncomfortable.
This approach is also beneficial for patients who have completed or are currently undergoing TMJ treatment, as it helps maintain a balanced bite and prevent symptoms from returning. Children and adults alike can benefit from this treatment, as it encourages natural jaw development, supports proper breathing, and improves posture and facial symmetry.
During your evaluation, Dr. Mandy Grimshaw will assess how your teeth, muscles, and joints work together. Using advanced diagnostics, she can determine whether neuromuscular orthodontics will improve your bite function, enhance your facial profile, and help you breathe and sleep more comfortably.
Advanced Education and Training
Our TMJ and airway specialist, Dr. Mandy Grimshaw, brings years of advanced training in orthodontics and neuromuscular dentistry to every case. She has earned a Fellowship from the prestigious Las Vegas Institute for Advanced Dental Studies (LVI), where she received extensive education in the relationship between jaw position, muscle function, and airway health. In addition to her background in clear aligner therapy with systems such as ClearCorrect and Invisalign, Dr. Grimshaw also uses traditional wire braces and removable appliances to guide jaw growth and development for long-term stability and balance.
Our Neuromuscular Orthodontics Process
Before beginning neuromuscular orthodontics, a complete evaluation is performed to assess how your jaw, muscles, and airway are functioning. This includes testing for signs of TMJ disorders and sleep apnea, since both can influence how your bite develops and how treatment should be designed.
If TMJ treatment is needed, Dr. Grimshaw may begin with an orthotic device to relax the jaw muscles and establish a stable bite position. In cases where sleep apnea is diagnosed, appropriate therapy will be coordinated to ensure that breathing remains healthy and uninterrupted during orthodontic treatment.
Choosing the Right Orthodontic Treatment
At Kuhn Dental Associates, we offer a variety of orthodontic options designed to meet each patient’s unique goals. Dr. Grimshaw will determine the most effective treatment approach based on your needs—whether your focus is on straightening teeth, improving jaw development, or addressing airway and bite function.
For patients seeking aesthetic alignment, clear aligners such as Invisalign or ClearCorrect may be ideal. However, for those who require more extensive jaw development, traditional braces or removable orthopedic appliances are often recommended to achieve balanced growth and optimal function.
Reshaping bone and guiding jaw development is a gradual process, so orthodontic treatment often requires a year or more to complete. Throughout your treatment, Dr. Grimshaw will monitor your progress closely and provide detailed instructions to help you stay on track. Following the recommended steps ensures that your results are not only beautiful but also functionally stable and long-lasting.
Achieve Balance, Health, and Confidence
Neuromuscular orthodontics offers more than a straighter smile—it helps align the foundation of your oral and overall health. By creating harmony between the teeth, jaw joints, and muscles, treatment can enhance facial balance, reduce discomfort, and improve breathing and sleep quality. Whether your goal is to correct bite issues, relieve TMJ pain, or promote healthy jaw growth, Dr. Mandy Grimshaw and our team at Kuhn Dental Associates provide personalized solutions that support lasting results and comfort.
If you’ve noticed symptoms such as jaw tension, headaches, or difficulty breathing during sleep, it may be time to explore how neuromuscular orthodontics can help. Call (910) 692-4450 to take the first step toward a healthier, more confident smile.
