Jay Harris Levy, DDS

10/30/2024

This case is 8 years in the making! Today I repaired 14 teeth with functional composite build ups. All of these teeth contact their opposing teeth with vertical forces in a centered, relaxed condylar and neck posture. Tomorrow I will bond more bicuspids and the molars.

The patient was treated by me with splint therapy prior to orthodontics to relieve her facial and jaw pain. Dr Joseph Yousefian performed expansive orthodontics to allow me to finalize her occlusion with unworn tooth forms. In addition to orthodontics with Invisalign he expanded her palate and performed corticotomy assisted orthodontics ( you can see the scars from this in one of the retracted view). Her sleep apnea was reduced to be within normal limits in the process. Joseph calls this "Teledontics".

After orthodontics she went through another round of splint therapy so that I could be sure to restore her occlusion ant the correct posture. Bern Egger the owner of Natural Esthetics Dental Lab fabricated the diagnostic wax up for the composite build ups.

I would love to teach more of you how to treat these cases and more! If you are interested in learning how then sign up for my online Occlusion 101 course and reach out to me for further courses!

https://www.jayharrislevy.com/occlusion-101-online.html

10/28/2024

I received a number of questions from last weeks course in Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam that I did not have time to answer. I have decided to answer them on FaceBook in a series of posts. If you would like more information then click on the link t the bottom of this post for online access to my occlusion 101 course.

I used Google translate to translate most of the questions from Vietnamese to English.

1. Teacher, can you tell me the difference between using cotton wool and zig? Its indications. Answer
a. Both alter mechanosensory signal coming from the teeth and PDL.
b. A cotton pellet cushions the force of occluding teeth redistributing and lowering intradental and periodontal stress. The patient’s bite may vary from bite to bite but does not experience strong mechanosensory signaling from intradental and periodontal mechanoreceptors of occluding teeth, Patients often feels more comfortable than when in maximum intercuspation.
c. An anterior jig is equilibrated carefully so that a mandibular central incisor strikes the same flat plane contact point on each jaw closure arc. This is usually observed when head posture is fixed while reclined in the dental chair. The dentist can visualize the arc of closure of the mandible at this head posture and repeated bites into one or 2 contact points. The jig provides controlled sensory input generally resulting in reduced muscle activity in masticatory and neck muscles.
d. The jig along with silicone bite registration material can be used to mount diagnostic casts and mount models for making occlusal splints. Mounted diagnostic models are used to study the relationships of occluding teeth.

1. Teacher, can you tell me the difference between using cotton wool and zig? Its indications. Answer a. Both alter mechanosensory signal coming from the teeth and PDL. b. A cotton pellet cushions the force of occluding teeth redistributing and lowering intradental and periodontal stress. The patient’s bite may vary from bite to bite but does not experience strong mechanosensory signaling from intradental and periodontal mechanoreceptors of occluding teeth, Patients often feels more comfortable than when in maximum intercuspation. c. An anterior jig is equilibrated carefully so that a mandibular central incisor strikes the same flat plane contact point on each jaw closure arc. This is usually observed when head posture is fixed while reclined in the dental chair. The dentist can visualize the arc of closure of the mandible at this head posture and repeated bites into one or 2 contact points. The jig provides controlled sensory input generally resulting in reduced muscle activity in masticatory and neck muscles. d. The jig along with silicone bite registration material can be used to mount diagnostic casts and mount models for making occlusal splints. Mounted diagnostic models are used to study the relationships of occluding teeth.

10/12/2024

Dental occlusion is relys on 5 critical concepts:
1. Teeth are mechanosensory organs
2. Occlusion is dependent on the mandibular teeth moving around the Temporomandibular Joints and maxillary teeth moving around the Atlanto Occipital Joints
3. The difference between passive myofascial tone and active muscle tone
4. Obtaining a normalized head posture whereby passive myofascial muscle tone positions the Temporomandibular Joints and Atlanto Occipital Joints
5. Creating a stable occlusion in harmony with the TMJs and AOJs that does not provoke active muscle tone to displace the jaws from Centric Relation

https://www.jayharrislevy.com/occlusion-101-online.html

09/30/2024

https://levyocclusionseminars.mesi.edu.vn

• Nhận bằng Cử nhân Khoa học về Kỹ thuật Cơ khí tại Union College• Nhận bằng Bác sĩ Răng Hàm Mặt từ Đại học New York• Ông đã hoàn thành một nhiệm kỳ hai năm Postdoctoral (đạo tạo sau Tiến sĩ) về sinh lý thần kinh tại Đại học Y...

09/30/2024

Here is the signup link:
https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=941598814477211&id=100058813028554&mibextid=WC7FNe&rdid=idsk68epXxYtEkC6

09/30/2024

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/YTRYneGmAYFiRAz9/

09/11/2024

Hiking in the Alps in Merano Italy before my lecture next week at the Sirmione Symposium!

08/24/2024

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/Vpb8oH8frktgkiAw/

08/23/2024

Thought for today.

Biological tissues respond to mechanical stress in a multitude of ways.

07/31/2024

Know the truth about occlusion or your patients will pay the consequences!

Last week this new patient flew 2,575 miles each way from Hawaii to see me in my office in Portland, Oregon. Her photograph attached below demonstrates consequences of un-diagnosed and un-treated malocclusion. She presented with severe tooth wear, gingiva recession, abfractions, cupping defects, multiple endodontically treated teeth and crowns as well as jaw, facial and neck pain.

The irony is that most of her crowns had good margins. The treating dentists just did not know "where to put the bumps on the teeth" to create a harmonious occlusion!

Learn to see, diagnose and treat occlusion! Check out the link to my course "Occlusion 101:Physiology, Anatomy and Biomechanics of Occlusion" below and begin your journey!

https://www.jayharrislevy.com/occlusion-101-online.html