TMJ Help Program

Proper treatment of TMJ disorder requires that the patient have a complete understanding of what TMJ is and what the possible causes are.

The medical term for the jaw joint is the temporomandibular joint. TMJ, or TMD, is the abbreviation for the condition known as Temporomandibular Joint Disorder. The temporomandibular joint is very unstable and can easily become misaligned. If this happens, the patient can experience a wide variety of symptoms, many of which can be very painful.

The temporomandibular joint is one of the ball and socket joints in the body. The bones are protected by a layer of cartilage. The muscles that control the jaw’s movements are attached to the jaw bones by tendons. Throughout this whole area, there are nerves which connect to an infrastructure that includes nearly every part of the body. This is why, when the jaw is painful, patients often report pain that radiates too many other parts of the body.

If the temporomandibular joint becomes inflamed, for any reason whatsoever, the pain caused by the swelling and inflammation can cause a lot of discomfort for the patient. Many patients report hearing noise, most often a clicking noise, when they open or close their mouth, headaches that range from mildly annoying to migraine, pain in the face, neck, shoulder, and/or ear, and the inability to move their jaw normally.

What Causes Temporomandibular Joint Disorder?

Doctors do not fully understand the causes behind TMJ. While some feel that it is most likely caused by a traumatic injury, for some patients this simply is not the case. Excessive clenching or grinding of the teeth can produce the same symptoms, leading to the theory that stress plays a role in the development of this disorder. Other theories regarding the cause of TMJ include genetics, injuries which might occur as early as birth, and severe arthritis.

Recommended Treatment for TMJ Disorder

There are many TMJ home treatments that a patient can do without a physician’s supervision. Certain lifestyle changes can be made which may help to greatly improve the symptoms of TMJ. Patients who find that they are very stressed and, as such, clench their teeth a lot, may benefit from massage or psycho-therapy and learning relaxation techniques. A mouth guard may also be worn at night to protect the jaw from the effects of jaw clenching or teeth grinding.

Changing some dietary habits may also provide some relief to the patient. This can include the elimination of foods that are very tough, hard, or chewy as they can cause unnecessary stress to the temporomandibular joint.

TMJ chiropractic treatment may also be effective. Physicians have long felt that poor posture is an underlying cause of many joint problems. When the spine is not aligned properly, their will always be some repercussion. Correcting a patient’s posture has proven very effective in relieving some of the symptoms of TMJ.

Some cases of Temporomandibular Joint Disorder are found to be caused by problems with the patient’s dental structure. In these cases, a special kind of dentist is consulted. A neuromuscular dentist can evaluate the patient and make an accurate diagnosis of TMJ, after which they can recommend a plan of treatment. The TMJ dental treatment most used by neuromuscular dentists includes orthodontic or cosmetic reconstruction of the jaw and teeth and devices that are designed for the patient to wear long-term that will train the muscles in the jaw back into their natural position.