saaraah

just to keep in mind, i live in canada, so my prices are probably different than yours.

treatments vary widely depending on the type of health professional you see. my first night splint [over 10 years ago] cost around $500 give or take. another splint, called the NTI, cost only $100. the splint i have now [along with diagnostic testing - over 7 xrays -, consult, and splint adjustments] cost about $2100. the splint itself was about $1400.

in canada, going to non-dental related health professionals is free, so ive had it lucky that i havent had to pay all of the neurologists, pathologists, etc that ive seen. i've had an mri of my TMJs and cat scan of my brain [to rule out a brain tumour], which i did not have to pay for. i have insurance for some alternative professionals such as massage therapists and osteopaths, too.

generally, tho, a consult is between $100-300, and splint therapy is under $2000.

to diagnose TMJD, there are a few things that most dentists do:
+ ask about your symptoms and get you to check off where your pain is on a representation of a human body
+ muscle palpatation inside your mouth and around your face to see what muscles are tender and hurt [usually the pterygoids are deadly in TMJD patients.. heh]
+ measure how wide you can open your mouth and from side to side
+ hear/feel if your discs pop and if it's an early or late click - early is better than late
+ xrays [tomograms] and/or an mri: show whether you have bony changes to your condyles or if your discs are displaced
+ a JVA [joint vibration analysis] may be done to see if your condyles are damaged - the more 'vibration' within the TMJs, the more damage
+ may also see if you have neck, back, scoliosis problems
+ rule out other diseases that mimic the symptoms of TMJD

that's about all i can think of right now. the thing to also keep in mind is that there is no such thing as a TMJD specialist - no training exists to get that type of degree. it's good to be wary of people who profess that they are specialists.

- saaraah.