Infrared Thermal Imaging
in Orlando, Florida
If you have Temporomandibular Joint Disorder (TMD or TMJ), your jaw muscles are chronically strained. That is the reason you have TMD symptoms like facial pain and headaches. The jaw muscles take up a lot of the area on each side of the head and stress causes them to become inflamed.
Thermal imaging, also called thermography, can detect the inflammation and enable us to pinpoint it in diagnosing TMD. Normally, the body is symmetrical in the amount of infrared radiation it gives off. If you have TMD on one side only, that will show up clearly in your thermal images. If you have it in both jaw joints, that will also be clear, each side showing its unique pattern of stress. Thermal imaging is highly sensitive to any abnormality in the muscles, blood vessels, nerves, and bones.
How Is Thermography Used?
Different types of body tissue have slightly different temperatures. When tissue is abnormal or inflamed, a thermographic camera can record its temperature as a color distinct from the color of surrounding healthy tissue. Inflammation creates heat. If part of the body is inflamed, it will look different in the thermographic image (thermogram) on our chairside computer monitor.
A thermographic camera forms images of infrared wavelengths (beyond the red end of our visible color spectrum). These cameras are used in rescue operations such as collapsed buildings or fires, to find trapped survivors. Since humans cannot see infrared frequencies, the cameras translate them into a visible color scale:
- Warmest parts of the image are white
- Intermediate temperatures are shades of yellow and red
- Coolest parts are blue
If you have TMD on one or both sides, your thermographic images will show exactly where the inflammation is. Also, by recording images of mouth tissue before and after TMD treatment, we can assess the treatment's success. When inflammation is gone, the tissue's color will look more blue.
Thermal Imaging Complementary to Other TMD Diagnostic Tests
In our dentistry office, we use digital X-rays to see anatomical images of your teeth, their roots, and the jaw bones. We can also obtain an EMG (electromyograph - a chart of your jaw muscle electrical activity) by using the K7 Evaluation System. The K7 System can also create a recording of your jaw joint sounds.
Thermography adds more to our diagnostic accuracy by providing images of your jaw muscle physiology - any heat and inflammation in the muscles and nearby areas such as the ears and throat. By mapping your skin surface temperatures, thermography gives us information about any abnormality beneath the skin surface and by putting that together with data from other tests, we can arrive at a very accurate diagnosis for you.
Thermography is non-invasive and does not use radiation. In fact, there is no contact with the body at all, and the procedure is entirely painless. It is FDA-approved and we are pleased with the help it provides in diagnosing the painful condition of TMD.
You can read about other methods we use for your safe dental care at Your Safety in Dentistry.
If you would like to schedule a consultation with Dr. Castellini and learn more about your bite and any symptoms you may be wondering about, please contact our Orlando, Florida dental office today.
Disclaimer:
We run a dental practice and can diagnose and treat dental disease. We offer
guidance and counseling for improved nutrition but we are not
medical doctors. Please see your physician for all other
medical treatment and for any medications
they might require.
7350 Sand Lake Commons Blvd.
Orlando, Florida 32819
(407) 351-2245 | Contact Us
