Symptoms, Causes And Treatments Used By A Cosmetic Dentist For TMJ Dysfunction
http://www.healthmantra.net/articles/12030/1/Symptoms-Causes-And-Treatments-Used-By-A-Cosmetic-Dentist-For-TMJ-Dysfunction/Page1.html
Christine OKelly
Christine O'Kelly is an author for Annuvia, a company that provides businesses and other organizations with customized safety, emergency response, CPR training, and health/wellness solutions designed by healthcare and emergency response professionals. By Christine OKelly
Published on 11/16/2008
Temporo-Mandibular Joint or TMJ dysfunction is an uncomfortable and painful problem that often goes untreated until it is spotted by a cosmetic dentist. Here, you will discover the symptoms, causes, and treatments for this dental problem.
Temporo-Mandibular Joint or TMJ dysfunction involves pain, discomfort, and worn teeth because of a support problem with the bottom jaw. This joint is found where your lower jaw joins on to your skull. The problems start when the cartilage that cushions the joint or the muscles that give the area strength are hurt or damaged in some way. This often only affects one side of the face, but it is not uncommon to find this disorder in both joints.
Symptoms Associated With TMJ
Many sufferers of Temporo-Mandibular Joint dysfunction often complain of headaches and problems with their ear for years and never mention these problems to their cosmetic dentist. They may also notice that their ear is extremely sensitive to the wind and possibly experience problems with their equilibrium. The quality of their hearing may also decrease because of fuzziness or echoing.
The pain from this dental problem is often located in the neck, cheeks, forehead, and temples as well as the jaw. A cosmetic dentist identifies this pain as a sharp sudden pain similar to a muscle spasm. As the problem progresses, a popping or clicking sound can be heard as the joint moves. When it is left for far too long, the bones may even slide or shift.
Why It Occurs
TMJ often starts after suffering trauma, through repeated damage caused by moving the joint too far, or sliding the jaw as a physical habit. Having poor dental health or bad habits such as grinding teeth together is a large factor in this problem because it makes the surfaces of the teeth uneven holding the jaw in a poor position. Chewing fingernails, constant gum chewing, and eating food that is cut too large only complicate the matter. For other patients, the jawbone is naturally misaligned.
Finding Relief
Oral care professionals will attempt simple treatments and prevention to battle the symptoms of this dental problem. This could mean identifying and stopping bad habits, learning new ways to reduce stress, and relaxation methods. Applying hot and cold to the affected area in an alternating pattern can help reduce the symptoms as well. In conjunction with these at-home techniques, muscle relaxants, acetaminophen, and anti-inflammatory medications help to relieve pain and discomfort.
With moderate cases, the cosmetic dentist can prescribe antidepressants such as Tricyclics to relax the body and relieve the symptoms. To prevent further damage and hold the jaw in the correct place, the oral care professional may use an occlusal splint.
Surgery is sometimes the only option for those suffering with extreme cases of this dental problem. This will correct the bone structure. From there, physiotherapy, relaxation, and exercises will be used to increase the strength of the surrounding muscles to support the jaw and hold itself in place.
Whether you are an older patient in Wisconsin or a young patient from Laguna Niguel, cosmetic dentist experts will be able to help with TMJ. This will relieve the pain, discomfort, and frustration this dysfunction causes so you can enjoy eating and other activities in daily life.
Symptoms Associated With TMJ
Many sufferers of Temporo-Mandibular Joint dysfunction often complain of headaches and problems with their ear for years and never mention these problems to their cosmetic dentist. They may also notice that their ear is extremely sensitive to the wind and possibly experience problems with their equilibrium. The quality of their hearing may also decrease because of fuzziness or echoing.
The pain from this dental problem is often located in the neck, cheeks, forehead, and temples as well as the jaw. A cosmetic dentist identifies this pain as a sharp sudden pain similar to a muscle spasm. As the problem progresses, a popping or clicking sound can be heard as the joint moves. When it is left for far too long, the bones may even slide or shift.
Why It Occurs
TMJ often starts after suffering trauma, through repeated damage caused by moving the joint too far, or sliding the jaw as a physical habit. Having poor dental health or bad habits such as grinding teeth together is a large factor in this problem because it makes the surfaces of the teeth uneven holding the jaw in a poor position. Chewing fingernails, constant gum chewing, and eating food that is cut too large only complicate the matter. For other patients, the jawbone is naturally misaligned.
Finding Relief
Oral care professionals will attempt simple treatments and prevention to battle the symptoms of this dental problem. This could mean identifying and stopping bad habits, learning new ways to reduce stress, and relaxation methods. Applying hot and cold to the affected area in an alternating pattern can help reduce the symptoms as well. In conjunction with these at-home techniques, muscle relaxants, acetaminophen, and anti-inflammatory medications help to relieve pain and discomfort.
With moderate cases, the cosmetic dentist can prescribe antidepressants such as Tricyclics to relax the body and relieve the symptoms. To prevent further damage and hold the jaw in the correct place, the oral care professional may use an occlusal splint.
Surgery is sometimes the only option for those suffering with extreme cases of this dental problem. This will correct the bone structure. From there, physiotherapy, relaxation, and exercises will be used to increase the strength of the surrounding muscles to support the jaw and hold itself in place.
Whether you are an older patient in Wisconsin or a young patient from Laguna Niguel, cosmetic dentist experts will be able to help with TMJ. This will relieve the pain, discomfort, and frustration this dysfunction causes so you can enjoy eating and other activities in daily life.