Regenerative TMJ Solutions: PRF
Treating TMJ Disorders with PRF
If you’re experiencing jaw pain, clicking, headaches, or difficulty opening your mouth, you may be dealing with temporomandibular joint (TMJ) dysfunction, also called TMD. This condition can significantly impact your daily life, making it difficult to eat, speak, or even sleep comfortably. The good news is that innovative regenerative treatments like PRF (Platelet-Rich Fibrin) offer a path to healing that works with your body’s own repair mechanisms.
What is PRF Treatment?
PRF stands for Platelet-Rich Fibrin, a cutting-edge regenerative therapy that uses your own blood to promote healing. Think of it as giving your body’s natural repair system a significant boost. During the treatment, we take a small sample of your blood and process it using a special centrifuge to concentrate the healing components—specifically platelets and fibrin—that your body uses to repair damaged tissue.
The platelets in your blood are like tiny repair crews packed with growth factors, which are natural substances that tell your body to start healing. The fibrin acts as a scaffold, providing structure for new, healthy tissue to grow. When we administer these concentrated healing factors to your TMJ, we’re delivering a powerful dose of your body’s own repair materials exactly where they’re needed most.
Proven Success in Healing
You may have heard of professional athletes using similar treatments to recover from injuries faster and more completely. PRF has been successfully used for years to treat musculoskeletal injuries—problems involving muscles, tendons, ligaments, and joints. Similar to a sports injury, TMJ dysfunction is often a musculoskeletal problem affecting the jaw joint and surrounding anatomy.
Just as a tennis player might receive PRF treatment for a shoulder injury or a runner might use it for Achilles tendonitis, we can apply the same proven science to heal your jaw joint. The principles are identical: deliver concentrated growth factors to damaged tissue, reduce inflammation, and accelerate the body’s natural healing process.
In sports medicine, PRF has shown remarkable success in:
– Healing tendon and ligament injuries
– Reducing inflammation in joints
– Accelerating recovery time
– Minimizing the risk of re-injury
– Treating conditions like tendonitis and joint arthritis
Your TMJ is a joint complex consisting of muscles, bones, cartilage, tendons, and ligaments, meaning it can have problems very similar to the types of injuries athletes experience. The same healing mechanisms that help a baseball pitcher recover from a rotator cuff injury can help restore function and comfort to your jaw joint.
How PRF Helps Your TMJ Heal
When applied to TMJ treatment, PRF works through several powerful mechanisms:
Natural Healing Enhancement: The concentrated growth factors in PRF signal your body to increase the production of new, healthy tissue in your jaw joint area. This can help repair damaged cartilage, muscle, and bone, and restore normal joint function.
Inflammation Reduction: Chronic inflammation is often a major contributor to TMJ pain and dysfunction. PRF helps calm this inflammation naturally, without the need for long-term medication use.
Pain Relief: As tissues heal and inflammation decreases, many patients experience significant pain reduction. Unlike pain medications that only mask symptoms, PRF addresses the underlying problem.
Prevention of Further Damage: By promoting proper healing and reducing inflammation, PRF treatment may help prevent the progression to arthritis or more severe joint damage.
Improved Function: As your jaw joint heals, you may notice improvements in your ability to open your mouth, chew comfortably, and speak without pain.
What to Expect from PRF Treatment
PRF treatment is minimally invasive and performed right in our office. The entire process usually takes about 30-45 minutes. We’ll draw a small amount of your blood (similar to a routine blood test), process it in our specialized centrifuge, and then carefully inject the concentrated PRF into your TMJ area using precise, gentle techniques.
Most patients find the treatment comfortable, and because we’re using your own blood products, there’s minimal risk of adverse reactions. You may experience some mild soreness at the injection site, similar to what you might feel after a dental procedure, but this typically resolves quickly.
The healing process is gradual, as your body uses the PRF to rebuild and repair damaged tissues. Some patients notice improvements within a few days, while others may see progressive benefits over several months. The timeline varies because everyone’s healing capacity is different, just like recovery times vary among athletes using the same treatment.
Why Choose Regenerative Treatment?
Traditional TMJ treatments often focus on managing symptoms rather than addressing the underlying tissue damage. While mouth guards, Botox, medications, and other therapies can provide relief, they don’t actively promote healing of the joint itself.
Some treatments for TMD are “irreversible” therapies, such as:
- Orthodontics or braces
- Equilibration – grinding the teeth down to improve your bite
- Crowning the teeth
- Tooth extraction
- Root canals
- ANY type of surgery for TMJ or the jaw
If you are unsure about your diagnosis or treatment, you should avoid having any type of “irreversible” therapy.
Compared to other TMD treatments, PRF treatment offers several unique advantages:
– Low-risk: Uses only your body’s own healing components
– Minimally invasive: Minimal risk of side effects or complications
– Targeted: Delivers healing factors directly where they’re needed
– Long-lasting: Addresses root causes rather than just symptoms
– Proven: Backed by years of success in sports medicine and orthopedics
Can PRF Help with Trigeminal Neuralgia?
Many TMD issues are misdiagnosed as trigeminal neuralgia. Others are related to trigeminal neuralgia. The good news is that in both cases, PRF can be an effective treatment that relieves pain.
Taking the Next Step
If you’re tired of living with TMJ pain and dysfunction, PRF treatment may offer the healing solution you’ve been seeking. The same regenerative medicine that helps professional athletes recover from career-threatening injuries is now available to help you overcome TMJ dysfunction. Your jaw joint deserves the same advanced, natural healing approach that’s proven successful in treating musculoskeletal injuries throughout the body.
Ready to explore how regenerative medicine can help heal your TMJ? Contact Better Sleep Mid-Ohio Valley to schedule a consultation and learn more about whether this innovative treatment is right for you.
Further Reading
- Effectiveness of Platelet-Rich Plasma for Treating TMJ Disorders: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.
Tsai JH, Tam KW, Yang JD, Hsu TH.
Pain Medicine (Malden, Mass.). 2025;:pnaf042. doi:10.1093/pm/pnaf042. - Platelet-Rich Plasma Therapy for Temporomandibular Joint Osteoarthritis: A Randomized Controlled Trial.
Liu SS, Xu LL, Liu LK, Lu SJ, Cai B.
Journal of Cranio-Maxillo-Facial Surgery : Official Publication of the European Association for Cranio-Maxillo-Facial Surgery. 2023;51(11):668-674. doi:10.1016/j.jcms.2023.09.014. - Injectable Platelet-Rich Fibrin as Treatment for Temporomandibular Joint Osteoarthritis: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial.
Işık G, Kenç S, Özveri Koyuncu B, Günbay S, Günbay T.
Journal of Cranio-Maxillo-Facial Surgery : Official Publication of the European Association for Cranio-Maxillo-Facial Surgery. 2022;50(7):576-582. doi:10.1016/j.jcms.2022.06.006. - Evaluation of Intra-Articular Injection of Injectable Platelet-Rich Fibrin, Anterior Repositioning Splint and Arthrocentesis in Treatment of Temporomandibular Joint Internal Derangement.
Nasef M, Alashmawy M, Abdelrahman A, et al.
The British Journal of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery. 2024;62(8):710-715. doi:10.1016/j.bjoms.2024.05.002. - Evaluation of the Efficacy of Platelet Rich Fibrin (I-Prf) Intra-Articular Injections in the Management of Internal Derangements of Temporomandibular Joints – A Controlled Preliminary Prospective Clinical Study.
Manafikhi M, Ataya J, Heshmeh O.
BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders. 2022;23(1):454. doi:10.1186/s12891-022-05421-7. - Platelet-Rich Plasma Injections for the Treatment of Temporomandibular Joint Disorders: A Systematic Review.
Haddad C, Zoghbi A, El Skaff E, Touma J.
Journal of Oral Rehabilitation. 2023;50(11):1330-1339. doi:10.1111/joor.13545. - Platelet-Rich Plasma for the Therapeutic Management of Temporomandibular Joint Disorders: A Systematic Review.
Bousnaki M, Bakopoulou A, Koidis P.
International Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. 2018;47(2):188-198. doi:10.1016/j.ijom.2017.09.014.
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