TMD- What is it?
A typical temporomandibular disorder (TMD) may involve the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) or any of its surrounding soft tissues. Orofacial pain refers to any condition that manifests with pain in the head.
Common symptoms include:
Jaw pain, Jaw noise.Jaw locking
Limited jaw opening
Atypical tooth pain
Ear pain
Tinnitus
Headache
Neck pain
An ache in or around the ear(s)
Tenderness or discomfort of the jaw(s)
Discomfort in the joint(s)
Facial pain that aches
Difficulty opening or closing the mouth
Jaw(s) locks in place
Problems or pain while chewing
What can be done?
Clinicians trained in the treatment of TMD, orofacial pain, oral medicine, and dental sleep medicine are available for evaluation and treatment.
What Causes Orofacial Pain?
Orofacial pain is any discomfort that you feel in your head or neck. The discomfort may come from the muscles, arthritis, or neuropathic orofacial pain disorders.
Face pain, toothaches, or temporomandibular joint discomfort, TMJ, are types of orofacial pain.
Dentists with TMD Orofacial pain expertise and training will prove to be valuable in Understanding key concepts to help diagnose and treat these issues.
Patients with TMD most of the time experience symptoms of Obstructive sleep apnea along with issues like Orofacial pain.
What is TMJ?
TMJ is the most common type of orofacial discomfort that our dentists see every year.
You have two temporomandibular joints on each side of the head that attaches the jawbones to your skull. These joints act like sliding hinges when you open and close your mouth. When there is pain in one or both joints, it can come from the joint or the muscles surrounding them.
Some of the symptoms of TMJ include:
Clicking while opening, closing, or sometimes both
Pain while chewing Altered bite
The feeling of fullness in the ear
Pain behind the eye Pain behind the cheek Pain during chewing or sometimes after chewing.
Treatment Options depend based on the complexity of the symptoms.
Patients with TMD, orofacial pain, and sleep disorders can be helped with the help of the right appliance therapy.
It can range from a simple Guard, balancing the relationship of the upper and lower teeth to help align the TMJ in a functionally stable position.
Patients with Sleep issues can also benefit from TMD appliance if done with some modulation.
Long term pain patients find it hard to be completely free of clicks but will definitely feel better once stabilized.
In instances of patients experiencing Lockjaw or difficulty opening time is the essence in deciding the long term successful outcome. Sometimes pain can be managed and modulated with muscle relaxants, neurotransmitter blockers, trigger point therapy, Prolotherapy.
If you have any questions call Expressions family dental in Waxhaw, NC at 704-256-3548 for a TMJ consult.