TMJ-TMD
Jaw Treatments Can Relieve Your Pain
You shouldn’t have to live with jaw pain, headaches, or discomfort. With the TMD-TMJ treatment options at Brewer Dental Center, we can help you live pain free!
If you suffer from constant headaches, jaw pain or hear a popping sound in your jaw, these may be related to temporomandibular joint disorder (TMD). TMJ refers to the temporomandibular joints but it is also a common name for the disorder that affects the facial muscles and joints that connect the lower jaw to the skull. When the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) is not functioning properly, it can cause pain on both sides of the forehead and the neck as well. This dysfunction can lead to terrible tension headaches that a neuromuscular dentist, not a doctor, can diagnose and treat.
TMD can cause a wide variety of symptoms. Some of the symptoms may feel non-related to the face or jaw at all, including:
- Headaches or migraines
- Clicking or popping of the jaw
- Unexplained loose teeth
- Worn, chipped or cracked teeth
- Pain in teeth that seems to move around neck, shoulder or back
- Limited movement or locking jaw
- Numbness in your fingers and arms
- Pain in and around the ear
- Vertigo
- Tinnitus (or ringing in the ears)
- Change in bite (how the upper and lower jaw fit together)
- Pain in the face and jaw
- Jaw joint pain
- Pain in the jaw muscles
- Teeth grinding
When your muscles are continuously contracting due to a misaligned jaw joint, the muscle fibers enlarge and build tension or pressure in the face, neck, jaw, and shoulders. The tension confines the blood flow to the area. In response, the body, sends more blood, increasing blood pressure in the head and causing these tension headaches. Likewise, when you grind your teeth, which is another symptom of TMD, muscles are made tense and get worn out, which can also lead to your headaches.
At Brewer Dental, we will properly align the temporomandibular joint, allowing the muscles around your jaw to relax and feel better, and we will recommend a mixture of procedures to correct your bite and ensuring proper alignment of your TMJ.
If you think you may have TMD, call Brewer Dental to schedule your consultation. We will work with you to create a plan to alleviate your pain.