How does the treatment work

The treatment of CMD is multidisciplinary, involving dentists or orthodontists, physiotherapists and psychologists. Depending on the cause of the symptoms, the treatment must be approached differently. In most cases, pain relief and restoration of function is the first step.

The physiotherapist plays a central role in this process by releasing muscular trigger points and learning a self-exercise program with the patient to stretch the affected muscles. In the subsequent treatment, an attempt is made to compensate for the incorrect posture through targeted training. In addition, the dentist or orthodontist usually makes a bite splint to improve the fit of the teeth and prevent them from pressing during sleep. If CMD has manifested itself due to stress, the affected person should consider consulting a psychotherapist for stress management and conflict resolution behavior. Behavioral therapy can help to learn adequate ways to cope with stress and conflict situations.

Who bears the costs

The CMD treatment is carried out by physiotherapists with a special training for CMD treatment and can be applied as part of manual therapy. This means that the affected person can go to a physiotherapist with a prescription from an orthopedist or dentist. The costs for this are covered by the health insurance company, in addition there will usually be a co-payment from the patient to the practice.

Co-payments are the rule rather than the exception and are due to the expensive further training of the therapists. Whoever has a bite splint made by a dentist should ask his health insurance company beforehand, since the assumption of costs differs between health insurance companies. Behavioral therapy with a psychotherapist is usually covered by every insurance company if the psychotherapist confirms the necessity.

Duration

Due to the complexity of its causes, the therapy of CMD is a lengthy one. The treatment involves a long-term change of habits with which the affected person has usually lived for several years or even decades before symptoms have appeared.The earlier the treatment is started, the faster the symptoms can be brought under control again. Of course, the triggering factors (usually stress – private or at work) must be switched off, which is usually the biggest hurdle and thus a longer-term process.