Meet Dr. Jennifer Nguyen
DMD, FAGD, MPH · California dentist, founder of unclench dental, and the only clinician you'll ever see if you become a patient here. Therapeutic Botox for TMJ, jaw pain, headaches, and bruxism — delivered to your home, office, or hotel across the South Bay.
Credentials
Four-year doctoral training in clinical dentistry — diagnosis, treatment planning, restorative care, oral surgery, and the full musculoskeletal anatomy of the head and neck.
Concentration in healthcare management — graduate training in how clinical practices are built, run, scaled, and sustained. The lens behind both the practice I sold and the one you're reading about now.
Earned through 500+ hours of postgraduate continuing education plus a comprehensive exam. Held by approximately 7% of practicing US dentists.
Licensed in good standing by the Dental Board of California. License verifiable at the Dental Board's public registry.
Therapeutic botox, for three connected things.
The masseter and temporalis are the muscles that pull, press, and grind. Small therapeutic doses of botulinum toxin temporarily reduce their overactivity — and that downstream cascade addresses three things patients usually arrive frustrated about:
Clicking, locking, joint pain in front of the ear. Quiet the muscles holding the joint under tension, and it stops fighting itself.
Tension headaches, temple pressure, sore face by 4 p.m., referred ear or sinus pressure. When the muscles overfire, they refer pain everywhere they connect.
Nighttime grinding, broken nightguards, waking up already clenched. Reducing the force your jaw can generate at night cuts bruxism at the source.
Treatment results vary. Therapeutic neuromodulator therapy is a prescription medical treatment with potential risks and side effects; suitability is determined only after a clinical consultation.
Why I built this
Before unclench dental, I built and sold a startup dental practice in Los Angeles. The arc taught me how to build clinical practices from nothing — and where the system fails patients.
The pattern I kept seeing: morning headaches, a jaw sore by afternoon, a partner who heard them grind every night, a nightguard chewed through. I could examine them. I could confirm what was happening. The next step — therapeutic care for the muscles driving it — didn't fit inside a recall-based comprehensive practice. Structural reality, not a failing.
So patients with TMJ disorders, bruxism, masseter tension, and orofacial pain ended up with nightguards (which protect teeth but don't quiet the muscles) and the advice to manage stress. They deserved a more direct option.
unclench dental is the place I wish I'd had to refer them to. A practice focused exclusively on therapeutic care for grinding, jaw clenching, TMJ dysfunction, and orofacial pain. Narrow on purpose. Deep on purpose.
Built as concierge because the people who need this care most have schedules that don't bend. We come to them.
My clinical philosophy
Three things I tell patients on the first call:
- Not every jaw needs treatment. Many consultations end without an injection. If PT, postural work, an airway evaluation, or a properly fitted appliance is the right call, that's the conversation. I'd rather refer you than treat for the wrong reason.
- Treat the cause, not the chart. The masseter and temporalis are downstream of stress, occlusion, sleep, and life. Botox is one tool — part of a longer plan, not a standalone fix.
- Conservative dosing, refined over time. Better to under-dose and adjust up than over-dose and apologize. The first treatment is rarely the optimal one; the third is closer.
What you can expect
- A free 15-minute discovery call first — geography, cash-pay fit, the co-managed splint model. Not clinical yet. Book via the discovery link or the inquiry form.
- A $200 virtual fit consult (45 min telehealth) if we're a fit. Full medical and dental history, candidacy, treatment plan, transparent pricing. The fee credits toward your First Visit.
- The First Visit (90 min, $1,200–$2,500 by tier) at your home, office, or hotel — across the South Bay and minutes from LAX. Focused exam, treatment, and a 2-week telehealth follow-up are bundled into one concierge visit. Pricing depends on which protocol your jaw needs — Focused (masseter), Extended (masseter + temporalis), or Comprehensive (full jaw complex).
- Optional annual membership at the 2-week follow-up: Focused $4,200, Extended $5,800, or Comprehensive $8,200 — four prepaid visits at a 12–22% discount versus single visits. Membership is offered, never required.
- Direct, candid communication throughout. Cash-pay only — transparent before you commit. No insurance, no surprise fees. Superbill available on request.
Outside the practice
When I'm not growing unclench, I'm in the South Bay — cooking, traveling with my family, working out at Bay Club, and still practicing dentistry. Clinical work keeps me sharp; the rest keeps me human.
The patient profile I treat — busy, over-committed, clenching through life — is not abstract to me. I am most of it.
I write occasionally on dentistry, healthcare, and running a small clinical practice. Find that in the journal.
Ready to see if this is right for you?
A 45-minute virtual consultation is the first step. We review your symptoms, history, and candidacy — honestly. Many consultations end without treatment; we'll tell you when that's the right call.
Content on this page is for general information about the founding clinician of unclench dental. Nothing on this page constitutes medical advice or establishes a clinician-patient relationship. A relationship is established only after a clinical consultation, intake, and the practice's acceptance of the patient.