Your temporomandibular joint functions like a sliding hinge connecting your jawbone to your skull. You have one joint on each flank of your jaw. TMJ disorders can cause discomfort in the jaw joint and the muscles regulating jaw movement.
The exact reasoning for your TMJ disorder is challenging to determine. The pain you experience may combine many factors such as genetics, arthritis, and jaw injury. People with bruxism grinding and clenching their teeth also experience TMJ disorders.
In many cases, the discomfort associated with the disorders is temporary and is managed by self-managed care and nonsurgical treatments. However, if conservative treatment fails, your medical professional might recommend surgery as a last resort.
Common Symptoms of TMJ Disorders
The symptoms of TMJ disorders might include pain and tenderness in the jaw, discomfort in one of both the temporomandibular joints, aching pain in and around the ear, challenges when chewing accompanied by pain, aching facial pain, and locking of the jaw joint, making it challenging for you to open and close your mouth.
Common Causes of TMJ Pain
The TMJ joint securing your jawbone to your skull combines a hinge action with sliding motions. Cartilage covers the parts of the bones interacting in the joint and separates them by a small shock-absorbing disk to keep the action smooth. You develop painful TMJ disorders when the disk erodes or moves out of alignment, arthritis damages the joints cartilage, or impacts or blows damage the joint. However, in many cases, the reasons for the TMJ disorder aren’t clear.
You must consider seeking medical attention from the dentist near me if you experience persistent discomfort or tenderness in your jaw. The professional can discuss treatments to help alleviate your problem.
What Happens When You Visit the Dentist with TMJ Disorders?
When you seek treatment from the dentist for a TMJ disorder, they will discuss your symptoms and examine your jaw. The professional will listen to and feel your jaw asking you to open and shut your mouth, mark the range of motion in the jaw, and press on areas around the jaw to detect signs of pain and discomfort.
Treatment for TMJ Disorders
The symptoms of TMJ disorders will likely disappear without treatment in some cases. Unfortunately, if your symptoms persist, the dentist in Frisco, TX, might recommend various treatment options, often combining more than one at the same time.
The dentist might recommend pain relievers, and anti-inflammatories available over-the-counter or even prescribe more potent pain relievers for a limited time. Tricyclic antidepressants are generally recommended for depression and sometimes help with pain relief, sleeplessness, and bruxism in low doses. Sometimes they might also suggest muscle relaxants for use for a few days or weeks to help alleviate the pain from TMJ disorders.
Lifestyle and Home Remedies to Alleviate TMJ Pain
TMJ Disorders are short-lived and also provide relief using simple treatments at home. However, if you suffer from mild to moderate discomfort from the problem, TMJ therapy in Frisco recommends the following five techniques to find relief from the pain from home.
- You can gently massage the stiff and sore muscles around the jaw joint and the jaw.
- Your dentist or a physical therapist might show you exercises to stretch and strengthen your jaw muscles besides massaging the muscles yourself.
- Apply hot or cold temperatures like most heat or ice on the side of your face to relieve the pain you experience.
- You must avoid overuse of your jaw joint by eating soft foods and cutting foods into smaller pieces. You must also steer clear of sticky and chewy food and avoid chewing gum.
- You must try to become of your tension-related habits like clenching your jaw, grinding your teeth, chewing complex objects like pencils, ice, et cetera. Learning about the practices will help reduce the frequency of TMJ disorders.
If, after following the tips mentioned, you continue experiencing TMJ pain for an extended period, discuss your problem with the Frisco specialist, who might recommend steroid injections and other treatment options. It is well known that identifying the root cause of TMJ problems early can help prevent severe damage later. Therefore you must not endure TMJ pain without seeking advice from a medical professional. Instead, you should have TMJ disorders treated as soon as possible by contacting Millennium Smiles, providing you with effective remedies to alleviate TMJ disorders.