TMJ Treatment — The Best Treatment for Jaw Pain
Have you been suffering from migraines or sinus headaches and been unable to find any relief? Do you often feel neck and shoulder stiffness for no apparent reason? Do get earaches that come from clogging or congestion in one or both of your ears? Do you ever hear a clicking or popping sound when opening or closing your mouth?
If you answer “yes” to any of the above, you just might be one of the estimated 10 million Americans that suffer from TMJ issues. “TMJ” is a popular term used to describe a disorder of the jaw joints, chewing muscles, and bite. TMJ is a disharmony between the way the jaw joint works and the way the teeth and bite work during those movements. TMJ can be caused by many different things including tooth loss, accidents like whiplash, underdeveloped or mal-positioned cranial or jawbones, and bad habits such as clenching or teeth grinding.
TMJ can be caused by a group of conditions resulting from not having a normal funcition or comfortable positioning of the TMJ, and will show up as a cycle of pain, muscle spasms, and jaw problems. When teeth are missing, out of alignment, crowded or misshaped, chewing and biting cannot be achieved in a balanced way, so the TMJ and chewing muscles try to compensate for the unbalanced movement which results in symptoms that contribute to TMJ issues. Whatever the cause of TMJ problems, the MN Center for Dental Care can help with the best treatment for jaw pain.
An Unstable Chewing System
The three reasons people lose their teeth are dental decay, gum disease, and an unstable chewing system. An important step in providing the best treatment for jaw pain is to analyze a patient’s chewing system.
Your chewing system consists of how your teeth fit together when your chewing muscles move your lower jaw up and down. An unstable chewing system, if not discovered or addressed, can cause excessive tooth wear, cracked or loose teeth, sensitive teeth, jaw joint disorders and early tooth loss.
An unstable chewing system is often overlooked and sometimes a “silent” oral disease that many people dismiss as natural aging or wearing of teeth. Much the same way a set of tires that are not aligned properly wear faster and don’t perform optimally, an unbalanced bite can lead to excessive or abnormally accelerated tooth wear. The best treatment for jaw pain and TMJ treatment should start with an analysis of how one’s TMJ and teeth are functioning.
It’s important to note that many patients who suffer from TMJ symptoms were never told that it is related to their TMJ problem and were not aware that treating their TMJ could easily relieve their suffering.
If you are suffering from TMJ issues, the MN Center for Dental Health recommend a detailed evaluation of your bite, which includes mounted study models, digital images, and detailed records of your current condition. In many cases, the best TMJ treatment will include bite splint therapy to relax overworked chewing muscles and also allow your jaw joint to properly seat in the jaw socket. Once your jaw joint is seated in the socket, a diagnosis of how your upper and lower teeth fit together is made to consider the most conservative option to stabilize your bite.
At the MN Center for Dental Health, Dr. Sheils believes in providing a comfortable journey to better overall dental health. The best treatment for jaw pain and TMJ treatment begins with a consultation with Dr. Sheils where he will discuss with you your dental health concerns and goals in a relaxed environment. He’ll never pressure you or do anything that you aren’t completely comfortable with following your consultation and analysis.