Dr. David Shariaz is the clinical director at TMJ Sleep & Therapy Centre of Conejo Valley and Los Angeles. We proudly serve the needs of patients suffering from sleep apnea disorder and headaches in Thousand Oaks, Brentwood, and nearby areas. Dr. Shirazi is board-certified in Cranio-Facial Pain and offers the coordinated and efficient care his patients need for an improved state of health and well-being. As experienced TMJ experts, we provide conservative care using oral appliances, acupuncture, cold lasers, medications, and most non-surgical methodologies. At our TMJ Sleep and Therapy Centre, we will review your case and provide a personalized care program to help with treating your condition.
Understanding TMJ
Temporomandibular Joint and Muscle disorders (TMJD) describe a complex set of conditions that cause pain in the jaw joint and the surrounding muscles or problems when using the jaw. This condition can affect someone’s ability to speak, chew, eat, swallow, breathe, and make facial expressions. If left untreated, other parts of the head, face, and neck can be affected and may hurt. At TMJ Sleep & Therapy Centre of Conejo Valley and Los Angeles, we offer Headache Treatment and TMJ treatment that is personalized for each patient. For patients suffering from Sleep Apnea, jaw clenching, and teeth grinding, we can help. We create a customized treatment plan that is tailored specifically for each patient’s condition. Treatments can include a combination of sleep appliances and medication, Oriental medicine procedures, Naturopathic guidance, and many other solutions.
TMJ Disorder
Temporomandibular joint and muscle disorders (TMJDs) refer to a complex set of conditions that can cause pain in the area of the jaw joint and associated muscles and/or problems using the jaw. Both or just one of the TM joints may be affected. TMDs can affect a person’s ability to speak, eat, chew swallow, make facial expressions and even breathe.
Sleep Apnea
People who have sleep apnea stop breathing for 10 or more seconds at a time while they are sleeping (one apneic event). These short cessations of breathing can happen up to 800 times or more every night. Sleep apnea can seriously impact your emotional, physical, and psychological health!
What is Snoring?
The noisy sounds of snoring occur when there is an obstruction to the flow of air through the back of the mouth and nose. This area is the collapsible part of the airway where the tongue and upper throat meet the soft palate and uvula. Snoring occurs when these structures get close to touching each other and vibrate during breathing. When they do touch each other and don’t vibrate, then that individual has one apneic event.
Is Snoring Serious?
Yes! While it is socially annoying to the bed partner and may sometimes wake the snorer, it could be a sign of sleep apnea. Only a licensed professional medical provider can tell you for sure if you have sleep apnea.
The treatment of sleep apnea with a dental appliance will reduce and often ELIMINATE snoring for the person wearing the appliance.
What Does a Snoring Doctor Do?
A snoring specialist may ask you some basic questions for initial evaluation and typically recommend an at-home sleep study. After determining the severity of your condition, the specialist will give you some treatment options. These include more extreme options such as Somnoplasty, Tonsillectomy, Adenoidectomy, and other, less invasive options that can be extremely effective and gentle on the body. We recommend seeing Dr. Shirazi and the team at TMJ and Sleep Therapy Centre of Los Angeles and Conejo Valley so we can help you decide on the best treatment option for your specific issues and needs.
Snoring Doctors for Adults
TMJ and Sleep Therapy Centre has the best snoring doctors in Los Angeles and Conejo Valley. Helping adults as well as children, we have the experience of curing numerous snoring cases. Snoring is a medical issue and does require medical attention. It is caused by the vibration of soft tissue in the upper airway. The air passes through a narrow throat and causes the snoring noise. 35% of men and almost 30% of women snore regularly which is why it is important to consult a snoring doctor. Snoring is a problem. If not for you, then for those around you. Contact us to get an appointment with our snoring specialists and get rid of snoring for good.
Snoring Doctors for Kids
Although snoring is largely found in adults, it is sometimes present in kids. It happens when someone is no longer able to freely move air in and out of their lungs, which can happen due to several reasons. Kids and adults that snore are prone to sleep apnea which can be potentially dangerous. Snoring for kids can be potentially dangerous and needs treatment. Snoring specialists help children overcome snoring. In mild cases, it is fairly easy but complicated cases may require advanced medical procedures such as injections, implants, and surgery. The sooner snoring is addressed the better, and we are here to help.
Face, Jaw, and Airway Focused Orthodontics
Most people associate orthodontia with the application of braces to correct crooked teeth, especially in children. Dr. Shirazi, however, treats a wide variety of conditions in people of all ages WITHOUT BRACES.
What is Functional Orthodontics?
Functional orthodontics is a form of dentistry that specializes in the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of dental and facial irregularities. Technically speaking, these problems are classified as “malocclusion,” or having a bad bite. Dr. Shirazi is a skilled orthodontist in the design, application, and control of corrective appliances, such as ALFs, functional appliances, and braces to bring teeth, lips, and jaws into proper alignment and to achieve facial balance, TMJ stabilization, and an open airway.
Symptoms That Trigger Orthodontics
If you or your child has any of the following symptoms, have your general or pediatric dentist evaluate whether a poor bite may be responsible:
- Difficulty swallowing
- Tongue thrust
- Tongue-tied and/or difficult speech
- Crowded or crooked teeth
- Difficulty chewing because of tooth pain or difficulty aligning teeth
- Facial or jaw pain
- Permanent teeth developing in an abnormal position
- Constantly biting the cheek or roof of the mouth
Dr. Shirazi explains how he treats orthodontics in the most gentle and natural way to get fantastic results that not only look good but aid the body in functioning properly!
SOLUTION #1
ALFS: ADVANCED LIGHT WIRE FUNCTIONALS
The purpose of Advanced Lightwire Functionals (ALFs) is to orthopedically move structures of the oral cavity using minimal force (comparable to that created by the tongue) without occupying a great deal of space in the mouth. In doing so, the ALF expands the maxilla to allow a greater capacity of oxygen to enter the nasal cavities and trainsthe tongue to swallow in a proper manner so that the new position created by orthopedic expansion is maintained after its use is discontinued.
Benefits of ALF
CLOSE SPACES
We can close gaps in the teeth, for the best aesthetic result possible without surgery.
SPACE OUT CROWDED TEETH
We can straighten crowded teeth with or without braces! You can even have it corrected while you sleep, without having to wear anything during the day!
Even the most difficult-looking teeth are treated without having to extract any teeth!
WIDEN ARCH
For children and adults, we can often expand the dental arches, so that even braces are not necessary.
EXPAND ARCH
Adults also can benefit from non-extraction expansion for the optimum in facial and dental aesthetics. Over 95% of the patients treated at the TMJ & Sleep Therapy Centre never need to have extractions.
When the designer of the ALF appliance, Dr. Darick Nordstrom, introduced the appliance in the early 1980s, he quickly realized that his patients were experiencing relief from other health issues that had initially appeared to be unrelated. These included:
- Allergies resulting from restricted nasal airways
- Clenching and grinding of teeth
- Developmental delays such as childhood learning problems due to decreased blood flow to the brain
- Digestive problems
- Ear problems (ringing or humming sounds in the ears, decreased hearing ability)
- Fatigue
- Headaches (including migraines)
- Neck and back pain resulting from misaligned vertebrae and nerve impingement
- PMS
- TMJ (jaw joint) dysfunction with pain and restrictions of movement
- Vision problems (blurred vision, strained eyesight)
Orthodontics For Airway
One of the many benefits of orthodontics and dental orthopedics is an increase in total oral volume (airway). The tongue, the major culprit in Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), will block the airway by moving backward toward the throat during sleep when there is not enough room for it in the mouth. By orthodontically creating space for the tongue and training it to swallow properly, the airway’s total volume greatly increases. Coupled with an increase in the nasal airway from orthodontics, the body is provided with steady air intake and increased oxygen supply to the body.
Many patients with difficulty breathing through the nose prior to therapy have found relief with this process, both during and after treatment. Our office uses a rheometer, which sends sound waves down the airway, to detect the size of the airway and quantify the increase in the air intake.
SOLUTION #2
DENTAL ALIGNERS
Dr. Shirazi’s “Shirazi Liners” are clear aligners that are hypo-allergenic. Many of the aligners on today’s market cause negative reactions in patients due to the chemicals they are made of and the process they undergo in order to be made. Our aligners are safer and less likely to have a reaction when they come in contact with saliva or other liquids.
TMJ and Sleep Therapy Centre’s “Shirazi Liners” not only correct the teeth and bite cosmetically but also gently move the teeth and bones to guide the tongue into a normal and consistent swallowing pattern. For those that grind or clench their teeth at night, we can combine the Shirazi Liners with comfortable night appliances.
For more information please visit our DENTAL ALIGNERS page.
DEFINITIONS OF ORTHODONTIC TERMS
- Class I Malocclusion – the bite is aligned (your top teeth line up with your bottom teeth) but teeth can be crooked, crowded or turned
- Class II Malocclusion – the upper teeth stick out past the lower teeth (also called an “overbite” or “buck teeth”)
- Class III Malocclusion – the lower teeth stick out past your upper teeth (or “underbite”)
- Occlusion – the alignment and spacing of your upper and lower teeth when you bite down
Hope this information is helpful!
A Healthy Mouth is a Healthy Body and A happy Healthy life! Listen to the full episode at The Healthy Mouth Movement podcast on Apple iTunes
