Do you experience jaw aches, recurrent headaches, and/or intolerable facial pain? Does your jaw gets locked towards one side while opening your mouth? If yes, then these pains may be associated with the jaw joint, called – temporomandibular joint (TMJ). The painful conditions related to the jaw are frequently referred as temporomandibular disorders. In short, the TMJ disorders affect the muscles and jaw joints involved in controlling the jaw movements. Due to the complexity of this joint, it is a challenging task for a dentist to diagnose and decide options available for TMJ disorder treatment. So if you don’t want to be to suffer from this painful condition, consider visiting dentist as soon as possible. Before that let’s have a clear understanding of TMJ disorder treatment.

What is a Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ)?

A TMJ works extremely hard all day so that you can perform your daily activities efficiently? The TMJ is joint comprised of muscles, blood vessels, nerves, and bones that connects the lower jaw (mandible) to the skull (temporal bone) in front of the ear. In short, a TMJ acts a hinge that assists in moving your jaw up and down and side to side, so you can talk, chew, yawn and smile.

Understanding Temporomandibular Disorders (TMD)

TMD is the second most common pain-causing musculoskeletal condition. Notwithstanding with the prevalence and availability of wide treatment options, surprisingly only one out three people seek treatment for TMDs.

TMD alone is not a disorder, but it’s a predominant musculoskeletal condition that affects temporomandibular joint? Approximately 33% of the population mostly between the age groups of 20 and 40 suffer from this condition. The condition itself is usually not very serious and may resolve automatically, but it may appear again.

There exist a possible range of symptoms that can cause varying amounts of discomfort. The dentist may diagnose TMJ disorders based on a range of symptoms including pain and discomfort in the jaw joint, abnormal jaw movement, tenderness on palpation and a restricted opening of the jaw.

Although most of the sufferers also note a popping or clicking sound as first evidence of the condition, others have more pronounced and painful symptoms.

Now say goodbye to all the pain caused by the TMD. Our expert team at TMJ Disorder Treatment in Orange County and in Tustin assists you in all your dental treatments by bringing a special smile on your face. The TMD team at Orange county and Tustin strive hard to cater you the best in town dental care by clarifying every step of the dental treatment which helps you to make an informed decision for your smile. In short, your search for best dental care ends here.

What causes TMD?

Research studies show that there are various conditions that are associated with TMD which makes it difficult to pinpoint the cause of a particular case of TMD. However, some of the related conditions include:

  1. Jaw trauma or head injuries
  2. Grinding the teeth while asleep may lead to TMJ disorders
  3. Autoimmune diseases
  4. Poor posture in the neck and upper back muscles
  5. Stress leading to muscle tension and jaw clenching
  6. Arthritis
  7. Physical injury
  8. Chronic inflammatory disorders
  9. Excessive gum chewing
  10. Some of the other causes may be genetic, hormonal, or environmental disposition
  11. Women aged between 18 to 44 experience TMJ disorders at a higher rate than men

Common symptoms

TMJ symptoms can manifest you will begin to feel less and less comfortable. Therefore it is better to seek a dentist’s opinion immediately. As such, TMD is not a specific condition. But it may have different signs and symptoms ranging from mild to severe. Some of the specific symptoms may be:

  • Pain: It may be confined to the joints, or may radiate into the facial muscles while talking, chewing, or yawning.
  • Sensitive or sore teeth: These are common symptoms of TMJ. If the teeth are one of the causes of TMJ then any or all of the teeth may be sore.
  • Ear-aches: It is one of the common experience with TMJDs leading to tinnitus and hearing loss.
  • Headaches: Severe headaches and dizziness are associated with TMJ
  • Swelling: There may be a tired feeling because of the swelling on your face and the mouth.
  • Clicking and popping sound: Moving of the joints can produce clicking and popping noises that are sometimes loud enough to be heard by others.
  • Restricted movements: The jaw may be locked in an open position indicating dislocation of the joint and can be a major discomfort in everyday life.

If you have any of the above symptoms, then it may be a sign of TMD. Clarify your queries with our temporomandibular disorder treatment team. The team at Orange County and Tustin treat patients so effectively so that your treatment begins before it becomes severe.

Available Treatment Options

Mostly the TMD disorders are regularly managed, rather than cured. However, the success of the treatment depends on how effectively your dentist treats it to relieve your symptoms.

(a) Medications: Some of the pain-relieving medication options are:

  • Anti-inflammatories and antidepressants: Your dentist may prescribe strong pain relievers like Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and tricyclic antidepressants for pain relief.

(b) Therapies: These include wearing of soft plastic mouth guards inserted over the teeth which reduce the grinding of the teeth.

(c) Physical therapy. It includes an application of moist heat and ice followed by some stretching jaw exercises to strengthen jaw muscles.

Tips to Cope With TMJ

Following things can help you to prevent or minimize the TMJ problems.

  1. Avoid chewing gum.
  2. Eat soft foods and avoid large bites while eating.
  3. Minimizing extreme jaw movements like yawning, yelling or singing
  4. Practicing some relaxation techniques to control jaw tension

Excruciating pain and dysfunction related to the jaw joint and jaw muscles are conditions dentists regularly face in their dental practice. The TMD team at Orange County and Tustin offer a comprehensive way to investigate the health of your jaw and teeth. Our diagnostic center provides a reliable way of identifying the presence of serious TMJ disorders. Book your appointment and feel tension free with our team to get better insights about all your TMJ problems. We would be happy to assist you!