TMJ Disorder: Understanding Your Options for Treatment

TMJ disorder is a painful jaw condition that can impair your quality of life. The abbreviation TMJ stands for temporomandibular joint, which is the joint that connects your skull to your jaw. You have two TMJs, one on each side of your face, and they control the movements of your jaw so you can smile, eat, yawn, and talk. Dysfunction of your TMJ can lead to TMJ disorder or TMD. At Ridgewood Dentistry in Ridgewood, New Jersey, we can diagnose this condition and recommend treatment to provide long-term TMD relief.

TMD: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment

TMJ dysfunction can cause many painful symptoms, ranging from jaw pain and stiffness to painful chewing, difficulty opening and closing your jaw, and clicking noises when you move your jaw. However, symptoms can extend to other parts of your body as well. You may experience headaches and earaches, ringing in your ears, migraines, and neck, shoulder, or facial pain. TMJ and headaches often go together, as head pain is a common symptom of this condition.

The causes of TMD II are Infections and Injuries, arthritis, misaligned teeth, bad bites, genetics, and stress. After evaluating your teeth and jaw and assessing the severity of your symptoms, Dr. Warren Boardman will better understand how to treat your condition to provide long-term pain relief. TMD treatment can also help improve jaw function and mobility. The right treatment can even cure your condition permanently.

We recommend the following non-surgical TMJ treatment options for TMD pain relief:

• Physical therapy – Jaw and stretching exercises can help ease muscle tension, improve jaw flexibility, and reduce jaw pain so you can eat, talk, and smile comfortably.
• Trigger point injections – Corticosteroid or Botox injections can relax jaw muscles and ease painful symptoms.
• Ultrasound – Ultrasound delivers heat to your jaw to improve blood circulation and promote quicker healing of soft tissue jaw injuries.
• Soft food diet – Chewing on hard foods can place undue stress on your jaw muscles and joints, which can trigger headaches and other TMJ symptoms. You can avoid unnecessary muscle tension by eating a soft food diet.
• Oral appliances – Oral appliances like night guards and dental splints can be worn over your teeth to manage bruxism symptoms and improve jaw alignment. Correcting these problems can help minimize TMD symptoms.
• Stress management – Stress management therapies like yoga and meditation can help you relax to minimize stress-related TMJ or bruxism symptoms.
• Orthodontics – If crooked teeth or malocclusion cause your TMJ symptoms, straightening your smile can relieve permanent TMD.
• If all else fails, Dr. Boardman may recommend jaw surgery to provide long-term TMJ pain relief. As surgery is an invasive procedure, it’s generally reserved as a last resort for treating this condition.

TMJ Treatment Near Me

For help diagnosing and treating TMJ disorders in Ridgewood, New Jersey, contact Dr. Warren Boardman from Ridgewood Dentistry at (201) 448-8605.

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