"Throughout 15+ years of practice, I've encountered a recurring frustration when dealing with dental complications. Ask any dentist and they'll tell you: occlusion has long been an elusive bane. Even minor changes to your occlusion can have troublesome repercussions if they're beyond the adaptive capacity of your stomatognathic anatomy.
After routine dental procedures we check and adjust your bite, but we're limited to subjective feedback from both patient AND doctor unless we have the ability to measure malocclusion.
Debilitating head and neck muscle tension, ear troubles, and nerve pain often go unrecognized as manifestations of malocclusion. But symptoms like cold sensitivity, clenching, grinding, chipped teeth, broken crowns, dislodged fillings, and loose implants are very common findings in every dental office, every single day.
Such irritations are especially frustrating after cosmetic procedures. For a smile design makeover, you'll spend as much on your mouth as you would on a luxury vehicle or a kitchen renovation. The end result should not only LOOK great, it should also FUNCTION well. Occlusion takes center stage when considering the balance, harmony, and function of your bite, muscles, and TMJs.
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After I got my veneers, I was instructed to wear a night guard. And after braces, there was a retainer. What do they have in common? They're both a piece of plastic worn over teeth, just like a TMD orthotic. If you've ever wondered how a TMD orthotic differs from a night guard or retainer, the answer has to do with INTENT and PURPOSE. But it's not unreasonable for patients to be confused because they sure do seem the same unless you understand the complexities of occlusion.
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During my training in full-mouth cosmetic reconstructions, my primary concern was disrupting the bite and how that might adversely affect the TMJs. So I vowed to learn as much as I could about occlusion. My path took me through a post-grad continuum where the instructors were using a bite-force sensor called T-SCAN. Upon completion of Clinical Mastery Series (c.2016-17), I decided to add it as an adjunct to document the final finished bite for full-mouth cases.
A native Houstonian and second-generation dentist, Dr. Harden earned his D.D.S. degree in the Houston Medical Center from the University of Texas School of Dentistry, class of 2008. He's proud to serve the neighborhoods of West University, the Museum District, Bellaire, Upper Kirby, River Oaks, Tanglewood, and Memorial. His father Dr. Jan Harden provides quality family dentistry for the neighborhoods of Rivercrest, Sandalwood, Bunker Hill, Oaks of Woodlake, Briargrove Park, Memorial, and surrounding areas of West Houston.
Prior to dental school he was an all-American swimmer and Division I water polo player at Loyola Marymount University (Los Angeles) while earning his bachelor's degree in biochemistry. Dr. Harden lives in the Memorial area with his wife Elizabeth, a celebrated interior designer with distinguished clients from greater Houston and beyond.​
T-SCAN has a steep learning curve. It seemed simple at first but I wanted to learn how to use it for more complex cases. After further training merited DTR certification (c.2018), occlusion revealed itself to be inseparable from the world of TMD. Ironically and despite my reluctance to position myself as a 'TMJ dentist', my path led from cosmetic dentistry to occlusion and its inevitable end, TMD.
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From this standpoint, I look forward to each and every opportunity to help qualified candidates through the computer-guided bite calibration process known as DTR THERAPY, which begins and ends with objective measurements and can bring life-changing relief from TMD symptoms via conservative dental treatment. Likewise, by the very nature of occlusion, to deliver beautiful cosmetic dentistry in balance and harmony with orofacial muscle function and temporomandibular joint health."
