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TMJ Disorders
TMJ (temporomandibular) disorders are a family of problems related to your complex jaw joint. If you've had symptons like pain or a clicking sound, you'll be glad to know that these problems are more easily diagnosed and treated than they were in the past. Since some types of TMJ problems can lead to more serious conditions, early detection and treatment are important. No one treatment can resolve TMJ disorders completely, and treatment takes time to be effective. But with the help of your health care team, you're more likely to have a healthier and more comfortable jaw.
Trouble With Your Jaw
TMJ disorders develop for many reasons. You might clench or grind your teeth, tightening your jaw muscles and stressing your TMJ joint. Or, you may have a damaged jaw joint due to injury or disease. Whatever the cause, the results may include a mis-aligned bite, pain, clicking or grating noises when you open your mouth, or trouble opening your mouth wide.
You can have a TMJ disorder for a long time without realizing it. That's because some of the symptoms, such as worn teeth or headaches, may seem unrelated to your jaw joints and muscles. Is a TMJ disorder causing your problems? Begin to find out by asking yourself these questions.
- Are you aware of grinding or clenching your teeth?
- do you wake up with sore, stiff muscles around your jaws?
- Do you have frequent headaches or neck aches? Does the pain get worse when you clench your teeth?
- Does stress make your clenching and pain worse?
- Does your jaw click, pop, grate, catch, or lock when you open your mouth?
- Is it difficult or painful to open your mouth, eat, or yawn?
- Have you ever injured your neck, head, or jaw?
- Have you had problems (such as arthritis) with other joints?
- Do you have teeth that no longer touch when you bite?
- Do your teeth meet differently from time to time?
- Is it hard to use your front teeth to bite or tear food?
- Are your teeth sensitive, loose, broken, or worn?
The more times you answered "yes," the more likely it is that you have a TMJ disorder. Understanding TMJ disorders will also help you understand how they're treated.
A dental and medical evaluation helps pinpoint the causes of your TMJ disorder and is the first step in planning a personalized treatment program for you. A dental and medical history provides information about your overall health, begins to reveal the kinds of symptoms you're experiencing, and hints at their possible causes. A physical exam helps identify your TMJ-related symptoms, such as joint pain, clicking, or a limited range of motion. Diagnostic tests pinpoint even further the possible causes of your TMJ disorder, indicating what the best treatment might be for you. Dental casts may help determine whether your teeth are coming together correctly and how your bite may be affected by your joint and surrounding muscles.
Dental and Medical History
Your dental and medical history helps Dr. McNeel gather information on your symptoms, your overall health, and your family history of any related problems. With the answers you give, Dr. McNeel begins to determine the causes of your disorder. You might be asked: Are you under stress at work or home? Do you clench or grind your teeth? Have you had bite problems or joint disorders?
Physical Exam
Dr. McNeel examines you to detect your symptoms. One technique is to firmly touch (palpate) your muscles and jaw joint, checking for pain, muscle tension and tenderness. He may also insert a little finger into your ear to feel how smoothly your jaw works. A stethoscope picks up clicking sounds in your joint and a ruler measures how wide you can open your jaw.
Imaging Tests
A variety of tests help confirm or rule out a diagnosis of TMJ disorder. Tomographic or transcranial x-rays are head x-rays that record images of bones and reveal joint damage, fracture, or tumors. MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) produces detailed images of soft tissue, revealing damage in disks or ligaments.
Dental Casts
Dental casts are models of your teeth that help determine how muscle or jaw problems such as bruxism have affected your teeth and your bite. Casts help Dr. McNeel study if your teeth have been worn down or how your teeth line up. Dr. McNeel takes an impression of your mouth and forms plaster models, which may be mounted on a jaw movement simulator. This mechanical device helps reproduce the movement of your lower jaw.
Treatment Options: Self-Care
There are many treatment options that improve the harmony and function of your jaw. But, in large part, relief hinges on you. The most important role you can play throughout your treatment program (and your lifetime) is resting your jaw, so it can heal and regain stability. Other self-care techniques that may relieve your symptons are ice, heat and exercise. At Dr. McNeel's direction, you may need to practice these techniques until your symptoms subside, if symptoms flare up again in the future, or along with other kinds of treatment. Self-care will help other kinds of treatment be more effective in resolving your TMJ disorder.
Treatment Options: Stress Management
Managing daily stress is one of the best ways to help restore harmony between your muscles and joints. You can ask Dr. McNeel about specific relaxation techniques. biofeedback teaches you how to relax tightening muscles. Other methods, like deep breathing, relax your mind and body. Getting support helps you cope with stress and pain that often accompany a TMJ disorder.
Treatment Options: Physical Therapy
A variety of physical therapy techniques, such as jaw exercises, postural training, and mobilization, help you regain the harmony in your jaw joints and muscles. Physical therapy is often used when your disk, ligaments, or other joint tissues are injured. It promotes healing and reduces pain and swelling. It also aids muscle relaxation and increases your jaw's range of motion.
Treatment Options: Occlusal Splint
Dr. McNeel may recommend that you wear a splint - a clear plastic appliance that fits over your top or bottom teeth - to establish harmony between your muscles and joints. There are three types of splints that work in various ways, but accomplish many of the same goals. Splints may reduce bruxism by keeping your teeth apart, help relax muscles, and reduce pain. They can also change jaw posture enough to stabilize some bite problems and reduce pressure in your joints. It may not be easy to get used to wearing and caring for your splint, but it is an important treatment that may last for three months or more.
Treatment Options: Bite Correction
If your TMJ disorder has caused problems with how your teeth fit together, you may need treatment to correct your bite, although this is seldom necessary. Often, a splint alone is all that's needed. But you may need other treatment, such as orthodontics or restorative work, to correct more serious bite problems resulting from TMJ disorders.
Treatment Options: Surgery
Surgery can help restore your jaw joint and eliminate the pain and other symptoms of TMJ disorders. With other treatment available, surgery is rarely needed, especially if a problem is diagnosed and treated early. In some cases however, the joint becomes so severely damaged that surgery is needed to correct it.
From biting and talking to chewing and yawning, your TMJ joints always come into play. So when something goes wrong with your jaw joints, it can cause you much discomfort. But with the right diagnosis and treatment, most people do find relief from the pain and other symptoms of a TMJ disorder - and you can, too.
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