Dr. Halajian grew up in the San Fernando Valley. He graduated from UCLA with a B.S. in Psychobiology. He subsequently earned his dental degree (DDS) from USC in 1990. Since then he has been practicing general, preventive,cosmetic and restorative dentistry. He is constantly updating his knowledge and skills by participating in many varied continuing education programs. He has been an active volunteer in many charitable organizations and has generously donated his time and services to render care at events sponsored by RAM (Remote Area Medical). He enjoys family time and loves to watch his daughter practice martial arts, and his son play soccer. Memberships: Academy of General Dentistry, American Dental Association

'As my patient, you can expect a compassionate attitude towards your specific treatment needs. You will receive comprehensive quality care to achieve and maintain your optimum oral and general health.' -Vic Halajian D.D.S.

The Greek word 'apnea' literally means 'without breath.' Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is very common. If left untreated, people with sleep apnea stop breathing repeatedly during their sleep, sometimes hundreds of times during the night and often for a minute or longer. With each event, the brain briefly arouses people with sleep apnea in order for them to resume breathing, but consequently sleep is extremely fragmented and of poor quality.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea occurs when the tongue is stuck against the back of the throat blocking the upper airway causing air flow to stop. Obstructive Sleep Apnea is a very common chronic disorder that may create respiratory or cardiovascular complications if left untreated.

Signs that you may have Obstructive Sleep Apnea are:- Snore loudly- Gasp for air or pause breathing during sleep- Feel sleepy during the day and sometimes fall asleep at inappropriate times- Wake up more than 2 times a night to use the bathroom.- If you are more than 30 pounds over weight with a large neck size.

Snoring is caused when the muscles and soft tissue in the throat and mouth relax making the breathing airway smaller. A relaxed and/or collapsed airway produces soft tissue vibrations during breathing and snoring is the result.

A snoring appliance is a custom fit mouthpiece that is made from plastic and is easy to clean with a toothbrush. It is designed to keep the upper and lower jaw in place when the throat relaxes during sleep. This allows the air passage to remain open while providing a quiet and relaxing sleep.

Do you ever experience a clicking or popping sound when opening or closing your mouth? Have you been suffering from headaches or migraines and no one seems to be able to help you? Have you been taking pain medicine for years and would like to get off of it? Do you feel any clogging or congestion in one or both of your ears? These are just a few of many symptoms that might be associated with TMD, or Temporomandibular Dysfunction, a common condition affecting the jaw joint or Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ).

TMJ dysfunction, often referred to as TMD, is a disharmony between the way the jaw joint works in an unstrained position and the way the teeth and bite work during those movements. Possible causes of this disharmony include tooth loss, accidents (like whiplash), mal-positioned and/or underdeveloped cranial or jawbones, and perhaps habits like clenching or teeth grinding. Many people go through life suffering from headaches and a variety of facial and neck pains without knowing the ultimate cause, which in many cases is TMJ disorder.

They are the two joints which connect the lower jaw to the temporal bone at the side of the head. If you place your fingers just in front of your ears and open your mouth, you can feel the joint on each side of the head. Because these joints are flexible, the jaw can move smoothly up and down and side to side, enabling us to talk, chew and yawn. When the TMJ is not functioning normally and it is not within its physiological limits, it creates a condition called TMD, or Temporomandibular Dysfunction.

TMD is a group of conditions resulting from not having a normal function or 'comfortable' positioning of the TMJ, and will present as a cycle of pain, muscle spasms and jaw problems. When teeth are missing, out of alignment, crowded or misshaped, chewing and biting cannot be achieved in a balanced way, so the TMJ and the muscles of chewing try to compensate for this unbalanced movement which results in symptoms that will confirm the presence of TMD.

Temporomandibular Joint Disorder (TMD) is not just a disorder, but a group of conditions, often painful, that affect the jaw joint or Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ) and the muscles that control chewing.

When teeth are missing, or out of alignment, it causes the jaw to shift positions and the muscles to work harder to chew, swallow, bite...etc and eventually will cause: muscle spasms, tension and pain.

If there is inflammation in other joints or bones of the body, it is called Osteoarthritis (Arthritis) which may involve the jaw bone and the TMJ. Some damage to the bone may be evident on the x-rays.

While recognizing TMJ problems is within the ability of most physicians and dentists, not all practitioners are qualified to diagnose it properly and treat it right. It is imperative that a trained practitioner in Craniofacial pain or Neuromuscular Dentistry give the final and definitive diagnosis, and suggest the most suitable treatment plan.

There is a lot of skepticism about TMJ treatment in the medical society, and that is simply due to the fact that physicians didn't receive the dental training and didn't acquire the knowledge required for such complicated diagnosis and treatment. Furthermore, many dentists rush into treating TMJ thinking that they can cure these problems, only to find that they lack the skill and experience to get the job done.

We have training and experience in the treatment of these problems with outstanding success rates. With highly advanced equipment and a high level of knowledge, we address your concerns and provide the best diagnosis for the optimal treatment.

Many patients who suffer from TMD symptoms were never told that it is related to their TMJ problem and were not aware that treating their TMJ could easily relieve their suffering. To explain this further...

If you suffer from headaches or migraines, TMJ dysfunction, could be the major and most likely cause of your suffering. Your doctors, including neurologists, have simply not received the dental training required to relate your migraine or headache pain to your TMJ problems. Once you rule out any brain tumors or aneurysms, TMJ should be checked and TMD should be treated to relieve the headaches and migraines.

Due to the proximity of TMJ to the ears, it is very common for the ears to feel congestion, or to have ringing in the ears when the TMJ bones move or dislocate from their place. In this case, ENT's (ear doctors) won't find anything wrong with the ears, yet the patients keep complaining about their ears. Once the TMJ is put back into its natural position, the pressure put on the ears will be relieved and the congestion disappears.

When the TMJ is not in a balanced position, it affects the general posture of the body. When the posture is not straight and upright, the nerves coming out from the spine could be irritated, which could cause the numbness or tingling feeling in the fingertips.

We use a state-of-the-art jaw tracking system that helps diagnose TMJ Dysfunction (TMD) by tracking the jaw movement. Research shows that there are certain jaw movements which show very specific types of TMJ dysfunction. For example, limited opening and closing or locking, jaw opening deviations and deflections, and restricted side-to-side jaw movements. All of these indications are widely accepted and published criteria for diagnosing TMD.

The Joint Vibration Analysis (or JVA) has been accepted by the American Dental Association to help provide a fast, non-invasive method to accurately diagnose TMJ function and demonstrate the severity level of the problem.

We use an Electromyographic Analysis (or EMG) to measure muscle activity on head and neck muscles both at rest and in function. This is done by placing computerized sensors on the skin allowing us to accurately monitor muscle activity. Hyperactive muscles are common for patients experiencing pain symptoms associated with TMJ problems. Imbalances between right and left sides of the same sets of muscles are also typical. The EMG system is a safe and comfortable method do help detect such issues and getting to the root of a TMJ issue.

Generally speaking, it includes the fabrication of an orthotic. An orthotic is an acrylic device that is worn on the lower teeth 24 hours a day. The orthotic is designed to reposition the jaw to the correct neuromuscular position. We analyze the bite, decide which muscles are causing the pain, and where the current position of the bone is and the disc. All this is done with the aid of advanced equipment like the TENS unit, K7 jaw tracking, Sonography, EMG's and advanced x-rays like Tomography, CT Scans and MRI's of the TMJ. This will help us determine the best and most comfortable position of the TMJ and the muscles. Once that position is determined, we place the orthotic on the lower teeth to keep the TMJ in that position. Orthotics usually are worn for 4-6 months or until most of the symptoms are relieved. Once an orthotic is in use, the symptoms start gradually disappearing until we reach a point that both the doctor and the patient are satisfied with. This concludes Phase I of the treatment.

Most of the time, any of the above could be considered and chosen, depending on the patients' preferences and financial capability. If you are currently suffering from TMD, it is too early to think of phase II at this time, since it is important to get you out of your pain and symptoms.

Many patients complain that when they received dentures, they noticed pain in the jaw, headaches, ear problems and other symptoms. Sometimes taking the dentures out will relieve those symptoms. If your dentures are not made to the correct bite, or vertical dimension, it will most likely cause these symptoms. Simple adjustments could get rid of these symptoms, but sometimes a whole new set of dentures need to be made according to the neuromuscular principles, to rid you of your headaches or jaw pain.

An orthotic, sometimes called a Bite Splint, is a very effective method in relieving TMD symptoms. It provides an acrylic platform to bite against, sometimes moving the mandible to a new position that is more comfortable.