The temporomandibular is a hinge which connects your jaw to the temporal bones of the skull located in front of each ear. It allows you to move up your jaw up and down as well as side to side so that you can chew, talk, and yawn easily. The problems with jaw and the muscles in face are known as TMD.
What Causes TMD?
The actual cause of TMD is unknown to dentist believe that the symptoms arise from muscle of your jaw or with joint itself. Injury to the jaw, joint, or muscle of your head and neck from a heavy blow can lead to TMD. Other causes can be:
- Teeth grinding or clenching
- Movement of soft cushion between ball socket of joint
- Arthritis in the joint
- Stress that causes you to tighten facial jaw muscles or clench teeth
What Are the Symptoms?
- Pain and tenderness in the face
- Issues when opening your mouth
- Jaws which get stuck in the open and closed mouth position
- Clicking, popping, and grating sounds in jaw
How Is TMD Diagnosed?
Many conditions have similar symptoms as TMD thus the dentist near Saskatoon will check your jaw joints for pain and tenderness and try to hear for clicks, pops, or grating sounds.
Home Treatments for TMD
- Take over-the-counter medications or anti-inflammatory medicines for relieving the muscle pain and swelling.
- Use the moist heat or cold pack on the side of the face and temple area for about 10 minutes, doing jaw stretches can also help.
- Eating soft foods such as yogurt, mashed potatoes, cottage cheese, soup, scrambled egg, fish, and cooked fruits and vegetables can also help.
Traditional Treatments
- Medications
The dentist in SK S7J 4M4 may prescribe some medicines with higher dose for help you cope up with swelling and pain.
- Night Guard
The mouth guards fit over your teeth and reduce the clenching and grinding.
- Dental work
The missing teeth can be replaced by dentures, crowns, bridges, or braces for balancing biting surface.
