The temporomandibular joint is more commonly known as the jaw joint. Your jaw joint is the most flexible joint in the body with three distinct movement directions. The jaw can move up and down, sideways as well as forward and back.
When a jaw is misaligned, a host of painful and limiting symptoms may occur. These are related to temporomandibular disorder (TMD), this is also known as TMJ.
About TMJ
Temporomandibular joint dysfunction colloquially referred to as TMJ, is thought to affect 20%-30% of adults mostly between the ages of 20 and 40. While TMJ is more common in women than in men and is not life-threatening, dental patients who suffer from this jaw dysfunction know all too well how much it can lower their quality of life.
How Is It Treated?
One of the trickiest parts of treating TMJ is that there are so many different contributing factors. Trauma from an automobile or sports accident, bad bite issues, stress leading to a chronic habit of clenching or grinding your teeth, and even genetic issues like skeletal asymmetry can all play their part in causing jaw joint pain and TMJ. Fortunately, the dentists at Chestermere Smiles Dental are here to help. We work with each of our clients as an individual, so we can focus on providing the pain relief you need as well as create a treatment plan that addresses your particular situation.
Risk Factors
Though there are a number of issues that might result in a misalignment of the jaw, the following are some of the prominent risk factors, gender (women are more likely to develop a TMJ/TMD disorder, posture, history of facial trauma, posture, deformities of the jaw, bruxism, misaligned bite, arthritis, synovitis or car accidents.
Symptoms
- Do you suffer from constant headaches?
- Do you have pressure behind the eyes?
- Do you have generalized facial pain?
- Do you have a click or popping noise when you are chewing?
- Do you hear grinding noises when moving your jaw?
- Do you have pain and/or swelling around your jaw?
- Are you limited in the amount you can move your jaw?
- Do you suffer from Sleep Apnea or other sleep breathing disorders?
- Do you suffer from the complete locking of your jaw joint?
If you answered to one or more of the above-mentioned questions your pain may be from a misaligned bite. Other symptoms may include pain in your neck, shoulders or back, tinnitus (ringing in your ear), pressure and/or pain in your ears that is not related to an infection.
TMJ/TMD Pain can progressively get worse if left untreated. This pain can last for years and is why it is important for your TMD symptoms to be identified properly.
Diagnosing TMJ/TMD
Our doctors use a number of advanced dental technologies in coordination with a hands-on evaluation technique to determine if you may be a patient who suffers from TMJ/TMD Disorders.
New Patients are always welcome and Dr. Pooja would be happy to evaluate this as part of your New Patient Experience at Chestermere Smiles Dental. Call 403-235-2282 to book your New Patient Experience today.