Dr. Louis R. Vita and the Vita Head, Neck and Facial Pain Relief Center. Dr. Vita offers a full service family dental practice in his comfortable location just off Clifton Avenue, at 991 Van Houten Avenue, across from the Clifton Municipal Complex. He is one of the region's leading authorities focusing on two special areas:

• Comprehensive TMJ Diagnosis and Therapy
• Comprehensive Restorative Dentistry.

The practice of Louis R. Vita, D.D.S. actively treats patients who experience pain or other disorders of their Temporomandibular Joints, more commonly known as TMJ.

Dr Vita's TMJ treatments relieve the pain patients have suffered from the following symptoms:
• Headaches located at the temples, top of the head, or the back of the head caused by TMJ
• Facial muscle pain and TMJ tightness
• Ear pain, clogging, and ringing from TMJ
• Clicking or popping noises from the joints associated with TMJ while chewing and opening their mouths
• Neck or shoulder pain related to TMJ
• Poor sleep quality caused by TMJ disorders
• Inability to open the mouth wide as they once could caused by TMJ related symptoms
• Poor posture
• Sensitive teeth and loose teeth.

With TMJ problems there are also certain physical changes that may be noticed including:
• Swelling of the cheek muscles
• Slouching or tilting of the head
• Wearing out of teeth
• Over closure of the mouth and lips
• Fullness of the neck.

TMJ problems develop from some type of injury. These TMJ related problems may occur at a very young age from a fall, motor vehicle accident, or direct strike to the chin from sports or other physical activity.

Once an appropriate and specific TMJ diagnosis has been established, specific TMJ treatment will be offered. The most common non-surgical therapies include:

• Appropriate occlusal splints to help relieve TMJ muscle tension and develop a more ideal occlusion or bite
• Physical therapy options to help in proper movement and aid in TMJ muscle coordination while relieving TMJ pain and spasm
• Atlas orthogonal therapy to address the atlas bone mal-alignment which can contribute to TMJ caused headache, neck or back pain, and poor posture
• TMJ pain management with laser and radio frequency energy to ensure the healing of damaged TMJ tissue
• Occlusal equilibration to help balance the bite so the teeth can then support the jaw joint
• Medications to address TMJ pain
• Restorative TMJ dentistry.

If the injury is deemed severe enough, corrective measures may be necessary. This would be to prevent further changes in muscular or bone structures. In young children, TMJ injuries can lead to improper growth causing facial deformities, while in adults the changes are accompanied by regression of the condyle (bone of the mandible connecting within the TMJ) with retrusion of the lower jaw. TMJ disorders can also lead to osteoarthritis.