Neuromuscular Dentistry · LVI Fellow
TMJ & Facial Pain · Charlotte, NC
The Headaches, the Clicking, the TensionIt’s your jaw — and it’s treatable.
TMJ disorder can quietly shape your whole day. Dr. Kate combines neuromuscular training and advanced diagnostics — and now FDA-cleared EMFACE for TMJ — to find the real cause and deliver lasting, non-surgical relief.
5.0 · 301 Google reviews- LVI Fellow · Neuromuscular
- Charlotte's EMFACE Provider
- 20+ Years in Dilworth
Who treats TMJ — a doctor or a dentist?
It’s a genuinely confusing question — and often, a dentist is the right place to start.
Because TMJ problems usually center on the bite, the jaw joint, and the muscles that move it, a dentist with advanced neuromuscular training is frequently well-qualified to help. Dr. Kate is a Fellow of the Las Vegas Institute (LVI) with several years of postgraduate study in neuromuscular dentistry — the study of exactly how the jaw, muscles, and bite work together.
Meet Dr. Kate →Could this be your jaw?
These signs can seem unrelated — jaw pain, clenching, grinding, a night-guard habit — but often share one cause. If several sound familiar, a short evaluation can tell you.
- Frequent headaches or migraines
- Ear pain, ringing (tinnitus), fullness, or congestion
- Jaw clicking, popping, or a locked jaw
- Dizziness or a sense of vertigo
- Neck, shoulder, or facial tension
- Teeth grinding or clenching (bruxism)
Frequent headaches especially can connect to the bite — see headache treatment for how that link works.
Check your symptoms
A quick, private checklist of signs commonly associated with TMD. It’s educational — not a diagnosis — and nothing you enter is saved or sent.
This symptom checker is for general education only and is NOT a medical diagnosis. Many conditions can cause similar symptoms. It does not store or send your answers. If you are in pain or concerned, please see a qualified professional for a proper evaluation.
How is TMJ treated — and can it be done without surgery?
For most people, TMD is managed with conservative, non-surgical care. The key is understanding how your jaw actually functions before making a plan.
Understand the cause
Measure the bite
Plan around you
Does insurance cover TMJ treatment, and what does it cost?
Honest answer: it depends. TMJ care can be billed medically or dentally depending on your situation, and coverage varies by plan — so there’s no one-size number. What we can promise is transparency: we’ll review your specifics, explain what applies, offer available payment plans, and give you a clear, personalized estimate before anything begins. No surprises.
A new option for TMJ relief
FDA-cleared EMFACE — now part of how we treat TMJ
In 2025, EMFACE became FDA-cleared for the treatment of TMJ dysfunction and associated pain. Using synchronized radiofrequency and HIFES muscle stimulation, it can help relax and re-educate the jaw muscles — a comfortable, needle-free option alongside the neuromuscular care Dr. Kate already provides.
EMFACE is FDA-cleared for the relief of symptoms associated with muscle spasm, treatment of TMJ dysfunction and associated pain, muscle re-education, increased local blood flow, and the maintenance or improvement of mandibular range of motion.
Dr. Kate is both a neuromuscular dentist who treats TMJ and an EMFACE provider — a rare combination that lets her offer this cleared indication here in Charlotte.
Tired of chasing jaw pain from place to place?
Start with one neuromuscular evaluation. We’ll find the cause and give you an honest plan.
★★★★★ 5.0 from 301 Google reviews · LVI Fellow · 20+ years
Common TMJ questions
- It’s a common mix-up. The TMJ — the temporomandibular joint — is the joint that connects your lower jaw to your skull, and everyone has one. When people say they “have TMJ,” they usually mean TMJD (or TMD): temporomandibular joint dysfunction, the disorder of that joint and its muscles. Your teeth, muscles, and jaw joint are meant to work in harmony; when they don’t, pain and other symptoms follow.
- TMJD often shows up as more than jaw pain: recurring headaches or migraines, ear pain, ringing (tinnitus), fullness or congestion, dizziness or vertigo, a jaw that clicks, pops, or locks, neck tension, and teeth grinding or clenching. Because these seem unrelated, many people live with them for years without realizing the jaw is the common thread.
- Yes. The jaw joint sits directly next to the ear and shares nerve and muscle pathways with the head and neck, so jaw strain can refer as ear pain, ringing (tinnitus), fullness, or frequent headaches. Evaluating the bite and jaw muscles often reveals a cause that ear or headache treatment alone can miss.
- Both can be involved, which is why it’s confusing. Because TMJ problems usually center on the bite, the jaw joint, and the muscles that move it, a dentist with advanced neuromuscular training is often a well-qualified place to start. Dr. Kate is a Fellow of the Las Vegas Institute (LVI) with several years of postgraduate study in neuromuscular dentistry — the study of exactly how those parts work together.
- TMD is not an ADA-recognized dental specialty, so no dentist is formally a TMJ “specialist.” What matters is genuine training and experience with the jaw and bite. In Charlotte, Dr. Kate offers a neuromuscular approach grounded in her LVI Fellowship and postgraduate study — focused on finding and addressing the underlying cause of your symptoms.
- For most people, yes — the majority of TMD is managed with conservative, non-surgical care. We start by understanding how your jaw and bite actually function, then build a plan around that. Surgery is not the usual starting point.
- It’s an approach that looks at how your jaw joint, muscles, and bite work together, rather than treating symptoms in isolation. Using precise digital diagnostics, we measure how your jaw functions so any plan is based on data — not guesswork. That’s what makes lasting relief more likely.
- Yes. EMFACE is FDA-cleared for the treatment of TMJ dysfunction and associated pain, and Dr. Kate offers it as part of her neuromuscular approach. It uses synchronized radiofrequency and HIFES muscle stimulation to help relieve muscle spasm and re-educate the jaw muscles — needle-free, with no downtime. We’ll tell you honestly whether it fits your case.
- It depends. TMJ care can fall under medical or dental billing depending on the situation, and coverage varies by plan, so there’s no single answer. We’ll review your specifics, explain what applies, and go over any available payment plans — with a clear, personalized estimate rather than a surprise.
- Cost depends on what’s causing your symptoms and the plan that fits you, so a consultation is the honest way to get a real number. We’ll explain what affects the cost and provide a personalized estimate up front, including payment options.
- Untreated, TMD often persists or returns because the underlying cause remains. Timelines are individual — some people feel better quickly, others need a longer, staged plan. We’ll be honest about what to expect for your situation, with no guarantees.
TMJ treatment across Charlotte
Neuromuscular jaw and headache care for the Charlotte area.
Areas we serve
Caring for Charlotte, from our home in Dilworth
Our office sits on East Blvd in Charlotte’s Dilworth neighborhood, so we’re a short trip for patients across the city’s urban core and greater Mecklenburg County.
Let’s find the cause — and the relief
A thoughtful evaluation is the first step. We’ll listen to your history, explain what we find, and be honest about your options and their cost.