TMJ

If you suffer from chronic headaches, neck aches, facial pain near the cheeks or ears, or your jaws have a tendency to pop and click, these symptoms may be the result of temporomandibular joint disease, or TMJ. TMJ sufferers also have been known to experience dizziness, ear aches, shoulder and back pain, chronic fatigue, irritability, blocked or ringing ears, and difficulty swallowing.

Symptoms such as these can be related to the bite or how the jaws fit together. We treat TMJ through advanced general dental techniques.

We understand the delicate relationship between the teeth and the skeletomuscular balance of the head, neck and back. As a member of the American Dental Association and other international organizations of dentists and physicians dedicated to the study, prevention and treatment of TMJ, Jacksonville dentist, Dr. Moore stays abreast of the latest developments in TMJ research and treatment.

Malocclusion and the TMJ

The temporomandibular joints that hold your lower jaw in place are suspended beneath your skull by an intricate system of muscles and tendons.

The jaw joint, surrounding muscles, and the way your teeth fit are interrelated, and can affect each other as you make routine jaw movements while eating and speaking.

Occlusion is the term used to describe the manner in which your teeth fit together. When your teeth are not in proper relation to each other and to your jaw joints, the jaw automatically shifts to a new position in an attempt to compensate for the misalignment of your teeth. This misalignment is termed malocclusion.

It can be seen from the diagram how a misaligned TMJ can affect blood vessels, nerves and muscles, which can lead to severe headache or ear pain. If the jaw is not properly aligned, other skeletal structures such as the neck and spine can be affected, which can result in other joints, nerves, muscles and blood vessels being affected. As nature tries to compensate for one difficulty, others are likely to arise.

Structural stress from a misaligned TMJ is the worst kind of physical stress because there is no way the body can find relief for it. If you hurt your arm, you can rest it. But it is impossible to leave the TMJ inactive. We swallow hundreds of times a day without even realizing it, and at night many of us have a tendency to clench or grind our teeth. Every time those teeth meet in incorrect occlusion, there is stress. To make up for it, the jaw muscles begin to hold a tense unnatural position. Before long, the tension travels by chain reaction throughout the body.

TMJ Diagnosis

Before we can prescribe appropriate treatment for your particular problem, we may conduct a variety of diagnostic procedures. A detailed head and neck physical examination usually required. X-rays may be taken of your jaw joints. These images are used to detect TMJ disease and determine position of the jaw joint. A medical and head and neck history also is reviewed. Other electronic, computer-aided studies such as sonographic joint vibration analysis and EMG recording may be used.

Once the pain is gone, the jaw is stabilized, or maximum medical improvement is reached we may recommend the following treatments:

• Occlusal equilibration to even the bite, designed to eliminate physical stress to muscles.
• Comprehensive prosthetic crown and bridge to replace missing teeth, even the bite in severe cases, and/or build up the bite if vertical height is needed, which eliminates dental stress and causes of pain problems.
• Orthopedic repositioning appliance or oral orthotic to wear long-term on top of the natural teeth, which allows muscles to attain a relaxed position.
• Orthodontics.
• Oral surgery or arthroscopy of the TMJ is recommended for a small percentage of patients.