What Is TMJ Disorder?
Understanding TMJ Disorder: A Comprehensive Overview So, what is TMJ disorder? Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorder is a condition affecting the jaw joints and muscles. In order to effectively manage and treat this complex disorder, it’s essential to understand more about it. Definition and Overview TMJ disorder refers to a range of conditions affecting the temporomandibular […]
Treatment of TMJ Dysfunction…TMJ pain series, part 4
If all else fails, as it occasionally does in the treatment of the painful but complex condition that is TMJ dysfunction, usually a nightguard (or occlusal splint) is recommended, in most serious cases even in conjunction with mild anti-anxiety medication (to avoid the need for frequent muscle relaxants, which can be addictive and can also […]
Some TMJ Anatomy… TMJ pain series, part 2
TMJ is short for Temporomandibular Joint. It is a joint which connects your lower jaw to the rest of your face (i.e skull). It looks something like this: Surrounding this joint are some very strong muscles, some of which you can see in the picture above, and some in the picture below: Those two big […]
Why does it hurt?…TMJ pain series, part 3
Back to the serious issue of facial pain! The pain associated with either TMJ or muscle dysfunction can vary from a very localized feeling of stiffness of the particular muscle on only one side, to a headache of epic proportions! You may not be able to open your mouth very wide, it may hurt to touch your […]
Dear Dentist, Am I Mad? …TMJ pain series, part 1
So I went to open my blog dashboard this morning, as is usually the case, not really knowing what I am going to write about. While I was thinking about my next subject for this week’s blog, I found myself holding onto my face, which was feeling pretty sore. For a couple of days now, […]