If you constantly hear clicking sounds when you move your jaw, or you're constantly feeling pain or stiffness in your jaw, you might be a prime candidate for TMJ treatment. TMJ is a disorder of the muscles and nerves surrounding your jaw bone.
It is usually caused by an injury to the temporomandibular joint, which is the bone that connects your jaw bone to your skull.
TMJ stands for temporomandibular joint disorder. It is sometimes referred to as TMD. Some of the other symptoms of this potentially agonizing jaw disorder include:
Temporomandibular joint disorder can be caused by blunt force injuries to the jaw bone, but there are a host of other factors that increase the odds of you needing TMJ treatment at some time in the future. These include:
The first thing your dentist will do is make sure the symptoms you are experiencing are indeed a result of temporomandibular joint disorder. To accomplish this, your dentist will perform a thorough physical exam. He/she might:
Your dentist might also perform a procedure known as TMJ arthroscopy when examining you. During this process, he/she will insert a thin tube that has a tiny camera attached to it – known as an arthroscope – into the space around your temporomandibular joint. That makes it a lot easier for your dentist to determine if you need TMJ treatment.
Once you have been diagnosed with TMD, your dentist will come up with the best treatment options for your particular case. Milder cases of TMJ can be treated with:
If you think you're a prime candidate for TMJ treatment, schedule an appointment with your dentist to discuss your options.
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