TMJ Help Program

According to the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, as many as 15 percent of people in the United States suffer from pain in one or both of the temporomandibular joints (TMJ), which are the jaw joints on both sides of the head, just in front of the ears. When working correctly, these ball and socket jaw joints make it possible for people to open and close their mouths to chew, talk and yawn.

When the jaw joint becomes misaligned, pain can result, leading to a condition called Temporomandibular Joint Disorder (TMD). The acronmyms TMD and TMJ are used interchangeably to describe this condition.

Symptoms of TMD/TMJ
• Aches, pain or tenderness in the face, jaw, ears, neck or shoulder
• Headaches, often severe like migraines
• Clicking sounds when the jaw opens and closes that is accompanied by pain
• Limited jaw or mouth movement caused by locking of the jaw joint
• Uneven or uncomfortable bite (also called malocclusion) making it difficult to chew and causing pain
• Hearing problems or ringing in ears (tinnitus)
• Dizziness
• Tingling sensations in the hands and fingers

Many people experience occasional jaw joint pain. Occasional pain should not be cause for alarm. However, if you are experiencing ongoing, multiple symptoms of TMD, it is important that you visit a doctor, dentist or neuromuscular dentist as quickly as possible. In some cases non-surgical treatments will be sufficient to ease the pain, while in more serious cases it may be necessary for an experienced neuromuscular dentist to implement surgical treatments.

If you have a problem with grinding your teeth at night (bruxism), your dentist may recommend getting a mouth guard. There are several problems with that option, the most obvious being that the night guard will not cure the teeth grinding.

If your dentist makes a custom bruxism mouth guard for you it will not be cheap. These types of mouth guards usually run between $500.00 to $700.00 and they will wear down over time. The mouth guard’s purpose is to prevent further damage to your teeth and so instead of your teeth being damaged you will be “damaging” the night guard. Over time your teeth will grind away the mouth guard and then another expensive one will have to be made. It is a never ending process.

Having to wear a bruxism night guard for the rest of your life may be problematic as well. When you first get your mouth guard you will probably wear it every night but, lets face it, how long is that likely to continue? Every one of us who have had braces or some night time apparatus to help align their teeth knows that we couldn’t wait until they came off. With a night time bruxism mouth guard will it be that much different? Wearing a mouth guard to bed at night is just not a comfortable thing to do for the rest of your life.

This leads to the conclusion that a bruxism mouth guard may not be the best long terms solution to the problem. It can be a temporary band aid but the teeth grinding will still be continuing and not be cured. Is there a cure for bruxism? Many feel that bruxism has to do with stress and stress related issues in a person’s life. Dealing with that stress may be the solution for some people while it may not help others. There are other ways to tackle bruxism head on. They will probably not work overnight but they will set you on your way to curing bruxism rather than just putting a band aid over it.

What is Bruxism?

Bruxism is the formal name for a potentially serious condition which can adversely affect your health. Bruxism is the unconscious action of clenching or grinding teeth, usually at night.

Who suffers from Bruxism?

Studies suggest that between 8% of the population suffer from the condition at any one time, but up to 80% of the population suffer from bruxism at some time during their lives. The etiology of bruxism is multifactorial, but stress is thought to be a major factor. Both women and men suffer from the condition, although women appear to be more susceptible.

What are the effects of Bruxism?

Bruxism sufferers can present many symptoms, including one or more of the following:

a) damage to teeth and dental work b) early morning headache c) disturbed sleep d) noises from teeth clenching or grinding during sleep e) TMJ pain or jaw pain f) neck stiffness and pain g) back and shoulder pain and discomfort.

What treatments are available?

The most common treatment for bruxism is a night guard that is worn at night. Dentists will usually recommend a night guard to help protect the teeth from the affects of bruxism. Other, non conventional treatments, such as hypnotherapy are also available but there is often limited clinical evidence to support the efficacy of such treatments.

Until relatively recently, the only choice has been an expensive custom made night guard, bite guard or splint appliance made by your dentist costing from £100 to £700. Over the last few years, orthodontic manufacturers have produced various types of night guards that can be fitted by the patient. However, not all night guards are the same. For example, some night guard manufacturers require you to boil the product and then put melted plastic in your mouth to create an impression.

A lot of problems which were once shrouded in secrecy have become connected to TMJ disorder in recent years. As was discovered, the part which conjoins our jaws to our skulls is a sensitive area that, when pressured, will result in a variety of troublesome signs for many portions of the body.

More Information At TMJ Treatment Options

Earaches, tooth pains, headaches, unusual speech patterns, throat pains, poor eyesight, and similar symptoms can be determinants of a TMJ disorder.

Do you know the TMJ causes?

Studying them will mean that we better chances of avoiding them.

- Failing to care for your teeth can result in TMJ. Decays may lead to toothaches, and toothaches will compel our jaw to close in a different way. Eventually, this may lead to abnormal closure of the temporomandibular joint which may result to a variety of problems.

- Trauma on the lower part of the face, particularly the sides, can result in TMJ. Sudden impact can even remove the jaw from the skull. If such alarming impact is experienced, the person concerned is strongly advised to seek medical opinion. As is usually the case, the effects may not be apparent, but long time consequences may already be developing under the skin.

- Unusual speech habits may be detrimental to the right conduct of the TMJ. Hence, do not push yourself to speak the wrong way. Specific words and specific phrases are supposed to be spoken in a specific way for a reason.

- Too much biting of nails can lead to TMJ problems. Nails aren’t as soft as we’d like them tobe. Sometimes, they can provide pressure against the proper conduct of the temporomandibular joint, resulting to the birth of many possible TMJ disorders.

- Obsessive gum chewing. Chewing gums force the temporomandibular joint to work overtime, more than it should. This will weaken the area and make it more fragile to TMJ disorders.

- Bruxism, or teeth grinding can result in TMJ problems. If nails and gums aren’t considered malleable enough, then our teeth would even be more dangerous for the TMJ region.