Feist Dental Philosophies

A message from Dr. Jon

Graduating from Dental School in 1985, I have personally witnessed the evolution in products and technology in my career. So much has changed in such a short time! I have been fortunate to continue my education each and every year as my patient family grows. There is so much more to dentistry than the degree you receive in dental school. Each course I attend provides me with additional knowledge to provide my patient family with optimal dentistry.

I have surrounded myself with an exceptional team of caring individuals where our patients become our friends. The team joins me in our continued goal of advanced training and they too have successfully completed numerous courses. We approach each patient with the confidence and certainty that we are providing them with the best that dentistry has to offer.

There are about 140,000 dentists in the United States, but fewer than several hundred have the training and confidence to perform full mouth neuromuscular reconstruction. I can leave my office at the end of each day knowing that I have proven and predictable techniques to treat every member of my patient family with only the best. How gratifying to know that we not only provide aesthetically pleasing outcomes, but life changing results as well.

What is Neuromuscular Dentistry?

Neuromuscular dentistry is simply the combination of the interaction of your teeth, the bones that your teeth sit in, and the muscles that move those bones so the teeth can come together in a balanced system and function the way they were designed to.

Abnormal growth patterns, fillings, crowns, broken or missing teeth, habits, and trauma may result in an imbalance in one or more of the components, resulting in further damage to the mouth.

Neuromuscular dentistry utilizes the relaxed position of the muscles of the head and neck to place the jaw into an “optimal physiologic position” (where nature wants it to be). Years of clinical research have demonstrated this technique to be effective in treating patients with various levels of head and neck pain. Dr Bernard Jankelson, the founder of neuromuscular dentistry, was fond of saying, ”If its measured it is a fact, if not it is an opinion“. Unfortunately most patients have been treated on opinion and not measured facts.

Many individuals suffer from head, neck and facial pain. Symptoms masquerade as other problems such as migraines, sinus headaches, earaches, neck and shoulder stiffness. In the past, inconclusive findings often lead people to prolonged drug therapy or being shuttled from one doctor to another in search of a solution to their discomfort. They are often told that they are in need of psychological counseling. Your symptoms can now be successfully treated by a dentist who has special training in managing these disorders.

Today, with the new knowledge and advanced instrumentation of bioelectronic technology, we are able to successfully diagnose and treat many of these complex problems. The technology used for treatment is commonplace in our computer world, and is used as an extension of the dentist’s senses to measure and quantify what we cannot see with our eyes, feel with our fingers and hear with our ears. This special equipment is non-invasive and painless. Every person is unique and must be treated as such for a successful outcome. Objective measurement of the jaw and muscle physiology gives the dentist a blueprint for successful and predictable treatment by facilitating the identification of specific dysfunctions.