TMJ,temporomandibular joint,TMJ pain,jaw pain,mouth pain,toothache

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TMJ

Many people suffer from headaches, facial pain and/or jaw clicking. Sometimes this is
because of problems with the jaw joint. Jaw joint problems affect about 40 percent of
people at some time in their life. The condition most commonly affects young women.

What is temporomandibular dysfunction?

The medical name for the jaw joints are the temporomandibular joints (TMJ). You have
two TMJs, just in front of your ears where your lower jaw bone (mandible) meets your
skull. The joints allow you to open and close your mouth, and move it from side to side or
backwards and forwards. These movements are brought about by muscles and ligaments
that surround the joints.

Each joint is made up of part of the surface of each bone - the jaw and the skull -
surrounded by a capsule. One side of the capsule is made of a ligament called the lateral
ligament. Between the two bones is a disc of fibrous tissue which helps your jaw to move
smoothly.

The Jaw Joint

One common problem is temporomandibular dysfunction (TMD), where the muscles in
your jaw become more tense than usual. There are various other problems that can cause
pain in your jaw, as well as clicking, stiffness and spasms (trismus). If you have had teeth
removed, particularly from the back of your mouth, your remaining teeth may not meet
properly and cause jaw problems. If you have dislocated your jaw in the past or had another
jaw injury, this could also cause pain later.

Symptoms

Your symptoms may include:

pain - this is most likely to be an aching around your ear, and possibly in your cheek bone or
neck, that may be worse in the morning
headache
clicking and/or cracking noise (crepitus) in your jaw joint when you move it
jaw locking
being unable to open your mouth properly (trismus)
You may find that your symptoms are worse during activities such as chewing and yawning.
They may also be worse if you are stressed.

Causes

A number of things can lead to TMD. Some of the most common causes are:

grinding or clenching your teeth (bruxism), especially at night
biting your nails or holding things between your teeth
fatigue, anxiety or stress
Any pain in your jaw is likely to be caused by your muscles tightening up.

You may grind or clench your teeth when you are asleep and so be unaware that you do it.
This may be the cause if your symptoms are worse when you wake up. Alternatively, if the
pain gets worse during the day, it may be because you are clenching or grinding your teeth
while you are concentrating at work.

Your symptoms may be caused by a problem with just the muscles of your jaw, or with the
ligaments and cartilages that surround it as well.

Clicking or other joint noise is likely to be a result of the ligaments in your jaw joint having
been overstretched, perhaps because of opening your mouth too wide. The cartilage moves
forwards out of its usual position when you open your mouth - the clicking is made when it
moves back into place as you close your mouth. The noise may seem louder to you because
the joint is close to your ear. Your jaw may lock if the cartilage does not return to its usual
position after slipping out of place.

Treatment

Our health professionals will educate you on non-surgical techniques and alternatives
whereby you may be able to decrease or eliminate your reliance prescription pain
medications. We will help you manage your pain, find its root cause, then work with you to
eliminate the cause and prevent future recurrences.

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