A knight in shining armour rides to the rescue of his TMJ patients

device_in_earDr Lance Knight describes a new way of treating temporomandibular joint disorders, through the ear.

Temporomandibular disorders (TMD) are a group of conditions characterised by jaw pain, headaches, and bruxism. The most widely prescribed treatment for TMJD is an intra oral stabilisation splint; however a new, more palatable alternative, Cerezen, has recently been introduced from the USA.

Cerezen is a device that is inserted into a patient’s ear canal, close to the temporomandibular joint (TMJ). The ear canals change shape when the jaw is opened or closed, and Cerezen uses this anatomical change to provide a unique near-field treatment for TMD. Cerezen encourages the patient to return to the ‘open bite’ position, by applying subtle pressure to the walls of the ear canal; this minimises the tendency to clench the jaw and tense the surrounding muscles.

Dr Lance Knight of BUPA Dental Centre in Manchester is one of the first Cerezen prescribers in the UK: ‘At first I was sceptical, it sounds strange when you first hear that you are able to offer a patient a jaw treatment through the ear. I was particularly interested in the fact that the treatment is, like a splint, totally reversible. If it doesn’t work, patients can simply remove it. With occlusal equilibration, which had always been another option to try and treat TMD, there is no going back, and here I was being presented with a second reversible option’.

What is your general feeling about the Cerezen device?

‘Cerezen has been a game changer for me in the way I look to treat TMD,’ Dr Knight continued. ‘It is a fantastic tool to have to offer to TMJ sufferers and is definitely my first port of call as a treatment for their condition. I am confident to prescribe it, and of the outcome it will give to patients. It’s such a good feeling to be able to offer a patient a potential solution to their problem that doesn’t risk their oral health (no more occlusal recribulation) or their pocket (the makers of Cerezen offer a money back guarantee).

‘Implementing a new treatment can often be complex and expensive as well as a massive change to the practice. With Cerezen, it is seamless. The only real cost to practitioners is your time to learn about the device. Cerezen has the opportunity to be highly profitable for practices, maximising the treatments that can be offered in-house, and reducing the amount of patients that have to be referred out. The even bigger reward has been the difference I am now able to offer my patients who before I was struggling to help.’

Such is his belief in the Cerezen device, Dr Lance Knight is hosting a series of peer-to-peer training courses in Manchester. Each delegate will leave, not only with a greater understanding of how the device works, the diagnostic and treatment pathway, but the business case for prescribing.


To book, contact Nicola Gresty on 07887 942628 or alternatively email: [email protected].

For more information visit www.cerezen.eu.

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