For longer than you’d like to admit, your jaw has popped, clicked, and been painful. You’ve done the best you could to deal with the problem, but during a phone conference at work last week, your jaw got “stuck” in an open position, making it impossible to communicate and embarrassing you in the process. Is there anything you can do to treat this issue? With TMJ therapy in Greenfield from BGH Dental, we can address the underlying cause of the jaw dysfunction and give you the relief you deserve.
What Is TMJD?
Dr. M. Sean, Hrinda, Dr. Jenna Bagley, and Dr. Jessica Stier explain that TMJ is actually the temporomandibular joint – this hinge joint connects your jaw to your skull. When you experience problems with this joint, you have TMJ dysfunction, or TMJD. Many people experience this condition as a result of grinding their teeth at night, and TMJD affects over 10 million people. The symptoms include:
- Pain or tenderness in your jaw
- Pain in the face, neck, shoulders
- Pain when chewing, speaking, or opening your mouth wide
- The jaw becomes stuck in an open or closed-mouth position
- Clicking, popping, grating sounds
- Fatigue in your facial muscles
- Trouble chewing
- Painful bite changes
- Swelling on the side of your face
- Earaches
What Causes TMJD?
TMJD is usually caused by the following conditions:
- Whiplash from a car accident or injury/trauma in everyday life
- Grinding or clenching your teeth
- Jaw injury
- Movement of the disc between the joint
- Arthritis in the joint
- Stress, since this can cause you to grind or clench your jaw/face
How Can BGH Dental Treat My TMJD?
With TMD therapy in Greenfield, we can treat your pain and address the underlying cause with the following methods:
- Making changes in diet and daily habits
- Providing medication and teaching stress management techniques
- Using nightguards to correct your jaw position and let facial muscles relax while you sleep
- Rebuilding worn-down back teeth with crowns to align your jaw an bite properly
When you work with us, we’ll develop and individualized treatment plan to address the reason for your TMJD after performing diagnostic testing to get a close look at your jaw. We won’t just treat your symptoms – we’ll correct the root cause to make sure you get the long-term relief you need.
Now that you know what TMJD is, what causes it, and how we can treat it, schedule your appointment with BGH Dental today – we’ll take the pain away!