Referring Doctors Request Appointment Give Dion Health TMJ a phone call at 415-570-2841 Contact
Give Dion Health TMJ a phone call at 415-570-2841

Marin has world-class healthcare — but a dentist whose entire practice centers on TMJ disorders and dental sleep medicine is genuinely hard to find in the North Bay. Dr. Amin Samadian, DDS — Diplomate of the American Board of Dental Sleep Medicine and Fellow of the American Academy of Craniofacial Pain — sees patients from San Rafael, Mill Valley, Novato, and across Marin at the San Francisco Center for TMJ & Sleep Apnea, one bridge away. Call 415-570-2841 or start with a virtual consultation.

Signs it's time for a focused evaluation

  • Jaw pain, clicking, or locking that keeps coming back
  • Morning headaches or jaw fatigue — often a clue to nighttime clenching
  • Teeth grinding your dentist keeps mentioning
  • Ear fullness, pressure, or ringing with healthy ears
  • Neck and shoulder tension that massage only briefly relieves

These symptoms usually trace to one underlying driver — the joint, the muscles, the bite, or the airway. Identifying which one is the entire point of a specialist work-up. What causes TMJ? →

Virtual first, then one productive trip

Start with a virtual consultation from home: your symptoms, history, and everything you've tried. We're straightforward about the limits of video — a definitive TMJ diagnosis requires CT imaging of the jaw joints, and any sleep evaluation requires a sleep test. If the work-up is warranted, it happens in a single comprehensive diagnostic visit: exam, bite analysis, and imaging in one appointment, with a clear plan before you drive home.

Getting here from Marin

The office is at 450 Sutter St, downtown San Francisco near Union Square — a direct run down 101 and across the Golden Gate from San Rafael or Mill Valley, with the Sutter-Stockton garage a block away. Prefer to skip the bridge? The Larkspur ferry lands at the Embarcadero, a short rideshare from the office, and Golden Gate Transit stops within walking distance. Follow-ups are grouped and handled virtually when clinically appropriate.

Conservative, cause-first treatment

Treatment starts with the least invasive effective option: custom oral orthotics that reposition the jaw and unload the joint, Botox for overworked jaw muscles, regenerative PRF therapy for the right candidates, and bite correction when alignment is the root cause. Sleep and airway factors are assessed in the same evaluation — see sleep apnea treatment.

Book from Marin & the North Bay

Serving San Rafael, Mill Valley, Novato, Sausalito, and all of Marin County from 450 Sutter St, San Francisco, CA 94108. Call 415-570-2841 or request an appointment online.

Reconstruction-grade TMJ & airway care — with our own lab

Most dentists treat TMJ symptoms. Dr. Samadian is a reconstructive and cosmetic dentist who specializes in dental reconstruction for TMJ and airway patients — which means care doesn't stop at managing pain; it can go all the way to rebuilding a bite that years of grinding and joint strain have worn down. He is also one of the few in Northern California with an in-house lab, so orthotics and appliances are designed, crafted, and refined under one roof rather than shipped to a third-party lab.

His integrated method moves through four stages, each matched to what your CT imaging and exam actually show:

  1. Diagnose — CT-based imaging of the jaw joints and airway; no guesswork.
  2. Decompress & stabilize — custom orthotics from our own lab, regenerative PRF therapy, and Botox for overworked jaw muscles.
  3. Develop the airway — NightLase laser therapy, MSE palatal expansion and orthodontics, and oral appliance therapy.
  4. Reconstruct — when teeth have paid the price of years of clenching, full bite reconstruction restores function and esthetics together.

The symptom list we treat is long because the jaw–airway system touches all of it: locked jaw, clicking and popping, jaw deviation, grinding and clenching, ear pain and ringing, headaches and migraines, neck and shoulder pain, and snoring.

Real TMJ patient stories

Patients Dr. Samadian has treated for TMJ disorders share their experience in their own words. Individual results vary.

Lindsay — TMJ patient
Olivia — TMJ patient
Chihiro — TMJ patient

Watch more patient stories →

Testimonials reflect the experiences of individual patients; results vary from person to person.

Common questions

Is there a TMJ specialist in Marin County?

Can I start with a virtual consultation from Marin?

How do Marin patients get to the San Francisco office?

I grind my teeth at night — do I need a TMJ evaluation or just a nightguard?

Is there a TMJ specialist in Marin County?

Marin has excellent general dentists, but practices genuinely focused on TMJ/TMD and dental sleep medicine are rare in the North Bay. Many San Rafael, Mill Valley, and Novato patients see Dr. Samadian in San Francisco — a direct trip across the Golden Gate — because diagnosis is CT-based and jaw, bite, and airway are evaluated together in one plan.

Can I start with a virtual consultation from Marin?

Yes. A virtual consultation covers your symptoms, history, and prior treatment from home. Because a definitive TMJ diagnosis requires CT imaging of the jaw joints — and sleep apnea evaluation requires a sleep test — the virtual visit determines whether an in-person work-up makes sense and what it should include before you cross the bridge.

How do Marin patients get to the San Francisco office?

The office at 450 Sutter St is downtown near Union Square. From San Rafael or Mill Valley it is a direct drive down 101 across the Golden Gate Bridge, or take the Larkspur ferry to the Embarcadero and a short rideshare. Golden Gate Transit buses also stop within walking distance. Many North Bay patients pair appointments with a workday in the city.

I grind my teeth at night — do I need a TMJ evaluation or just a nightguard?

A standard nightguard protects enamel but does not diagnose why you grind or reposition the jaw, and in some patients grinding is linked to airway restriction during sleep. If you also have jaw pain, clicking, morning headaches, or poor sleep, an evaluation that looks at the joint, muscles, bite, and airway together tells you what is actually driving it — before more enamel wears away.

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