Electromyography is the measurement of the function of the muscles. 

It can be used to evaluate if a particular chewing muscle is fatigued from overuse (grinding).  Fatigued muscles can cause symptoms such as headaches (migraines, too!), neckaches, ringing in the ears, tingling in the fingertips and other symptoms that go outside of the mouth.  In dentistry, this is important because if your jaw is in the wrong place or your bite is not right, then it affects the muscles of the whole chewing system because they have to work so hard.

It is also used to evaluate the group of chewing muscles that need to work together in a co-ordinated fashion.  It can tell if one muscle is firing out of time with another when assessing the bite.  The more efficient this team of muscles is, the better the health of your whole jaw system.

Finding the position of the jaw when the muscles are quiet enables the fabrication of an orthotic that can be worn in the mouth.  The orthotic is made to a jaw position where the muscles are measured as most stable.  The orthotic can prove a more ideal bite position to establish your dentistry to before dental treatment even begins.  You can determine if you 'feel' the difference and Dr. Heit can measure it to see if the bite is truely stable.

The muscles are then re-evaluated with the new bite position to make sure they remain stable.  From this position, a diagnosis and treatment plan options can then be presented.  You may need less dentistry than you think!