Most people with TMD get better with simple, reversible treatments like avoiding chewing gum and eating tough foods (like beef jerky), practicing relaxation techniques, and doing jaw-strengthening exercises. They may also take over-the-counter or prescription pain relievers. Your jaw muscles work hard to open and close your mouth hundreds, if not thousands, of times per day. If this joint gets overworked, it can start to show wear and tear. Over time, this can lead to a tmj disorder.
The most common symptoms are pain in the jaw and surrounding muscles and trouble opening or closing the mouth. Other signs include a clicking or popping sound when the jaw moves.
Symptoms
TMD symptoms often include pain when chewing, a clicking or popping sound when you move your jaw, and trouble opening your mouth wide. A physical exam can help find the cause of your symptoms. Your provider will ask about your past health history and check how well you can open and close your mouth. They will also listen for problems with your TMJ.
Some TMJ symptoms are caused by parafunctional habits like clenching or grinding your teeth, and others are related to other conditions that affect the joints, muscles, or bones, such as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, fibromyalgia, ankylosing spondylitis, lupus, or scleroderma. Stress can also make a TMJ problem worse. Practicing techniques to reduce your stress can help manage your TMJ symptoms.
Diagnosis
The temporomandibular joint (or TMJ) is a small hinge-like joint that connects the jaw to the skull. When this joint is healthy, it allows you to open and close your mouth and chew food. When the TMJ becomes painful and dysfunctional, it can cause a variety of symptoms that affect the teeth, ears, muscles on the side of the face and the ability to move the jaw. TMD is a group of over 30 conditions that involve pain or dysfunction of the TMJ and related tissues and limited jaw movement. Recent research suggests that TMD is a multi-system disorder associated with comorbid health conditions involving the circulatory, digestive, endocrine, exocrine, immune, muscular, nervous and reproductive systems.
The best way to diagnose TMD is to visit your primary care provider or dentist and have a physical exam of the jaw area. Your doctor will gently explore the tissues surrounding the joint and examine how the jaw moves. They may also take x-rays or computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
Treatment
A complex group of muscles, ligaments and discs in the jaw joint work together to enable you to open and close your mouth. Problems can develop when these structures are under stress or damaged. Damage can be caused by trauma, such as a blow to the head or jaw, accidents or falls, poor occlusion (bite relationship) between upper and lower teeth, and certain diseases that affect muscles or joints.
Pain during chewing and other activities is the most common symptom of TMD. Other symptoms include clicking, popping or grating in the TMJ when you open or close your mouth, limited movement of the jaw or a change in the way the jaws fit together when at rest.
Treatment options can include a variety of medications, including tricyclic antidepressants such as amitriptyline that are used in low doses to help control pain and sleeplessness caused by muscle spasms in the TMJ. Other medications, such as corticosteroid injections and the botulinum toxin type A (Botox) injection may also be helpful.
Prevention
TMJ affects your ability to eat, talk, and smile, so it’s important to do what you can to prevent it. In this blog, we explore the causes, symptoms, and prevention of temporomandibular joint disorders (TMD).
The temporomandibular joint (TMJ) is the hinge that connects your temporal bone in the side of your skull to your mandible in front of your ear. A disc of firm tissue separates the bones and acts as a shock absorber to reduce impact when you chew, speak, or open your mouth.
Jaw pain and difficulty chewing are the most common symptoms of TMJ. Other symptoms include a clicking or popping sensation when you open your mouth, and headaches. To help prevent TMJ, avoid clenching or grinding your teeth, eating hard foods, and chewing gum. Instead, eat foods that are soft and easily chewed. You should also limit your stress levels, as chronic stress can cause you to clench or grind your teeth, which can exasperate TMJ symptoms. Try relaxing exercises, warm baths, massages, or aromatherapy to manage your stress level.