Indications
• Acute jaw joint or muscle sprain/strain (JAMSS) following dental care
• Trauma involving the head and neck such as whiplash from a motor vehicle collision or sports-related concussion
• Blow to the jaw, chin lacerations
• JAMSS resulting from intubation
Conduct a brief screening over the phone and instruct the patient to purchase the Speed2Treat™ Home Healing Kit at Speed2Treat.com for delivery to their house. (Please contact us for quantity discounts.)
Schedule two telehealth consults (suggested 2- and 4-week follow-up.) The 4-Week Care Plan is a framework for you to determine the follow-up schedule for your patient and determine whether additional evaluation or treatment is necessary.
Click here to download the Telehealth Briefing Packet of Documents
The QuickSplint is designed for short-term use only. Patients can discontinue use of the QuickSplint should discuss their experience with you or their general dentist, who will screen for signs of bruxism and identify whether the patient is a candidate for splint-therapy and/or additional imaging and evaluation.
Application of hot/cold therapy improves blood flow in the jaw and neck muscles and provide muscle relaxation.
The Guidebook contains a Pain Tracker that is a self-examination symptom monitoring program to provide measurable subjective and objective complaints. Normal recovery period is 2-4 weeks and some patients pain will resolve quickly and may not need further examination.
If at the end of Week 2, the patient's pain and/or dysfunction is worse or has not improved from the baseline, the patient should be evaluated.
At the end of Week 4, the patient should bring the Pain Tracker and the QuickSplint to a follow-up appointment with you or a specialist.
We have developed an orthopedic model of care for craniofacial injury that is designed for broad availability across healthcare professions and patient populations. The treatment algorithm is based on advanced training in orofacial pain and our clinical experience in assessing and treating patients with musculoskeletal injuries involving structures innervated by cranial nerves.
The Speed2Treat Home Healing Kit provides the necessary tools that any provider working with these patients can use quickly and effectively. Through easy-to-access online training modules, the patient is provided with a self-directed 4-Week Care Plan that is inexpensive and easy to implement.
The craniofacial region, including the temporomandibular joints, and associated muscles and ligaments in the head and neck, when injured or over-stressed may take several days to several weeks to return to normal function. It is difficult to reduce muscle tensing habits and activities that strain the head, neck and jaw given the demands of daily life and biologic importance of the face, mouth, jaw, head and neck.
The Speed2Treat Home Healing Kit is not a substitute for appropriate medical evaluation, however it is our experience that many patients are not treated promptly. Either they wait to get better, are confused as to which healthcare provider to contact, or fear that their insurance coverage will be inadequate. Early intervention can reduce pain amplification to the central nervous system by down-regulating multiple pain pathways.
The Speed2Treat model was developed by orofacial pain experts, James Fricton, DDS, MS and Brad Eli, DMD, MS, together with James Elliott PhD, who is a global expert on neck pain and whiplash.
The Speed2Treat Home Healing Kit provides a goal-based “directed” self-care pathway using small and realistic accomplishments that can be achieved over time when coupled with the start of treatment with QuickSplint®, delivered at the first medical visit and hot/cold therapy and analgesics. For the patient, this creates an immediate validation of their concern and creates a successful momentum to maintain health or prompt return to health. Patient needs are addressed immediately, before muscle guarding intensifies and other restrictions in the jaw and neck musculature progress and become complicated to treat.
Patients or clinicians who need help finding expert evaluation are encouraged to use FaceMyPain.com, which is an online service featuring Pain Specialists, Dentists and other providers with sub-specialty training, such as Physical Therapists and Chiropractors.