Dental work is vital to maintaining a healthy mouth, but few people know that this extends into the treatment of TMJ disorder. The acronym TMJ stands for temporomandibular joint. When something causes any part of this joint, muscles, tendons, ligaments, or the joint itself suffer any type of damage, it is referred to as TMJ disorder. The temporomandibular joint controls the opening and closing the mouth, chewing, and a great deal of speaking. When something affects any of these things, it can have a major impact on everyday life. TMJ disorder is actually quite common, partly due to the fact that it can be caused by so many different things. Several causes, such as teeth grinding and misalignment can be rectified by visiting a dentist and receiving the proper treatment. TMJ disorder is a painful disorder that often requires taking pain relievers on a regular basis. Sometimes it is over the counter medications such as Advil and other times it requires prescription strength medication. Thankfully, there are treatments available that will remedy the cause of TMJ disorder and alleviate the pain and other symptoms. Here, you will learn about some of the methods of treatment currently available through dentists.
It is important to stress the fact that there are numerous ways to develop TMJ disorder. To successfully treat this disorder, you have to treat the underlying cause, which means that the first step to treatment will be to determine the cause. Only certain causes can be treated by a dentist, other causes will need to be treated by the appropriate specialist. If you are not sure what is causing your TMJ pain, it is best to start by seeing your primary care physician to get a proper diagnosis. Often times, all it takes is one visit to get a diagnosis, but there are also times when tests may need to be run in order to understand what is going on. If you do find yourself in the position of needing tests to determine the cause of your TMJ disorder, it is important to remain calm. Requiring tests does not mean that something terrible is wrong, it simply means that the doctor needs more information about your body before they can understand what is wrong. If you are having pain in your TMJ, even if you have never had problems before, see a doctor as soon as possible.
To make an important determination whether or not you need to see a doctor, it is important to understand as much as possible about the TMJ. This does not mean that you need to start studying medical books, a bit of basic information is all that is needed. First of all, it is all well and good to talk about the TMJ and refer to the jaw, but do you know where the TMJ is? The majority of people have two temporomandibular joints, one on each side of the jaw. These joints are what hold the jaw on the rest of the skull. Next, it is important to understand some of the most common causes of TMJ. While there are a great many different ways to develop TMJ disorder, there are some that are by far more common than others. This includes an injury, grinding or clenching your teeth, misaligned teeth, a misaligned jaw, and arthritis.
There are different treatments for each of these including everything from TMJ exercises to surgery.
Now, consider the different treatments that a dentist can provide. Grinding and clenching your teeth is not only one of the most common causes of TMJ disorder, but it is also one of the easiest to treat. Your dentist will fit you with a bite guard that will relieve some of that undue pressure that you are putting on both your jaw and your teeth. Not only will this help with the TMJ disorder, it will also protect your teeth from serious damage. This is an incredibly simple process, one that your dentist will be able to complete quickly and easily while taking you through each step. Of course, it is important to note that teeth clenching is generally a sign of stress which means that you will need to address this to fully deal with your TMJ disorder. While the bite guard will ease the pain and protect from further damage, it cannot help with the underlying issue of stress. So long as you remain at that stress level, you will continue clenching your teeth. Even if you are protected with a bite guard, clenching is still bad for the jaw. There are several ways to combat stress, Ideally, you will be able to remove whatever is causing the stress from your life, but this is not always an option. For those times, deep breathing is often very helpful. If the problem is severe enough, consider seeking the aid of a psychologist.
If your TMJ disorder is being caused by misaligned teeth, braces are often the answer. It will take time from braces to fully solve the problem, but once the treatment is complete, you will not have to worry about TMJ disorder anymore. If you think that your problem might stem from misaligned teeth, make an appointment with your dentist right away. They will be able to examine your teeth and determine if there is misalignment and if so, how severe it is. If it is determined that you need braces to correct a severe misalignment, your dentist will refer you to an orthodontist right away, there may even be one within the dental office you already use.
An injury is another common cause of tmj disorder and there are certain instances where a dentist might prove helpful. For example, if an injury caused a tooth to become damaged severely, it will have an impact of the entire mouth system, including the TMJ. When this is the case, visiting a dentist will help some, perhaps even all of your problem. If the injury is strictly within the jaw or directly to the TMJ, you will need to see a specialist other than a dentist, but if you are unsure of the damage, a dentist can help you narrow it down.