Chronic Sore Throat And Difficulty Swallowing: Neuromuscular Dentistry May Hold The Answer.

March 27, 2010 - PRLog -- There are numerous medical conditions that can lead to sore throats, difficulty swallowing and chronic coughing or throat irritation.  Patients suffering from these disorders should be thoroughly evaluated by both ENT physicians and Gastroenterologists.  

When these examination do not find specific problems or when treatment is ineffective a Neuromuscular denist may be your best answer.  The masticatory muscles can frequently cause referred pain or tightness to the throat.  Myofascial trigger points in the medial pterygoid muscle can cause of of the above symptoms as well as numerous other problems.

TMD, TMJ  or Temporomandibular disorders are frequently called "The Great Imposter" because they mimic so many other disorders.  The absence of clicking or popping in the joint does not rule out a neuromuscular problem in the trigeminal or masticatory system.  An excellent article on "The Great Imposter can be found in Sleep and Health Journal at http://www.sleepandhealth.com/story/suffer-no-more-dealing-great-impostor

There is a new resource on Neuromuscular Dentistry available at http://www.ihateheadaches.org that discusses the implication to headache sufferers of problems in the trigeminovasular system.

Chronic cough or sore throat is not usually considered a headache but it evolves thru the same underlying conditions that cause migraines and tension type headaches.

Another frequent cause of these symptoms can be sleep apnea and reflux related to sleep apnea.  Some patients develop these symptoms as a result of CPAP use.  The website http://www.ihatecpap.com discusses the angers of sleep apnea and alternatives to CPAP.

The National Heart Lung and Blood Institute considers sleep apnea to be a TMJ disorder.  Read their report "CARIOVASCULAR AND SLEEP RELATED CONSEQUENCES OF TEMPOROMANDIBULAR DISORDERS"  at http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/meetings/workshops/tmj_wksp.pdf

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I HATE HEADACHES LLC provides comprehensive information on Neuromuscular Dentistry, and Neuromuscular Dental Treatment of Migraines, Chronic Daily Headaches and TMJ disorders. The website http://www.ihateheadaches.org also has a find a neuromuscular dentist section.

I HATE CPAP! LLC provides information on Sleep Apnea, Dental Sleep Medicine and alternative to CPAP for patients who are CPAP intolerant. The website http://www.ihatecpap.com has valuable information on treating sleep apnea utilizing oral appliances.