It is lesser-known knowledge that the balance between the teeth, muscles and jaw joints is essential for your overall well-being. But in case of dysfunction, you can experience a series of events that can cause temporomandibular joint disorder (TMD) or Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ). In this disorder, the jaw is either misaligned or there is a bad bite. We are here to tell you all that you need to know about it and TMJ Treatment Toronto.
What is TMJ?
The temporomandibular joint joins the lower jaw with the skull. The muscles which are around this area are responsible for the movement of your jaw. There are soft disks of cartilage between the ball and socket portion of the joint is what enables us to move our mouth smoothly while we speak, yawn and eat. When the jaw is misaligned it prohibits the smooth functioning of the jaw, which causes TMD. You can feel the TMJ by simply placing the fingers in front of your ears on each side.
What are some of the symptoms of TMJ Disorder?
When you have been suspecting that your jaw is misaligned, here are some of the symptoms that you should look out for: Migraine like TMD/TMJ headaches, trauma to the jaw joints or other muscles in the neck and heat, crackling noises from the joint, dizziness, ringing in the ears and neck and shoulder pain. If you are experiencing these, you must book an appointment with your dentist right away.
What causes the disorder?
It is not always easy to determine a single cause for the TMJ disorder. A lot of times it is caused due to various factors put together like genetics, jaw injuries or pre-existing health conditions. It can also be caused due to jaw muscle fatigue which happens when there is abnormal functioning, grinding or clenching of teeth. Trauma to the jaw joints and cartilage or disk erosion, which can also cause the jaw to misalign and result in a crossbite, overbite or underbite. Osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and other inflammatory diseases can also cause TMJ. Nighttime jaw movements, stress and anxiety disorders are also some of the common causes.
How can TMJ disorder be treated?
The dentist will work to determine the cause of the disorder. After that, a personalized treatment plan would be created to help keep your jaw aligned and your muscles free from pain. Most of the time, the treatment is carried out by identifying the optimal jaw position. Once that has been done, the unique treatment plan is designed to keep the jaw in alignment. The dentist might make use of custom oral appliances which will help to test and confirm the jaw posture that will help to resolve the symptoms and improve the functioning of your jaw. Invisalign and other orthodontic techniques can help to improve the alignment. Botox is another option that is suggested to the patients. If you have missing teeth, then jaw support is improved with the help of dental implants or bridges.