Diagnosing Temporomandibular Joint Disorder

Many of the people who arrive at the door of a neuromuscular dentist's office have previously been to medical doctors in search of pain relief. Headaches are the most prominent symptom and they can be very severe. They are often thought to be migraines, so the sufferer goes on a wild goose chase among doctors. Most doctors will not think of the headaches as having a dental cause. They will prescribe painkillers and these will of course help, but only temporarily, as they do not address the cause of the headaches.





Symptoms
The symptoms of TMD are puzzling in their variety. Each person has a unique combination of them, in differing degrees of severity. Besides headaches, the most common symptoms are:• Jaw pain• Neck and shoulder pain• Earache• Ringing in the ears• Unexplained tooth wear• Popping or clicking sounds in the jaw joint• Inability to open the mouth fully• Tingling in the arms or fingers• Tooth grinding
Most of these symptoms could indicate other health problems besides TMD, and it is indeed possible to have several health problems besides TMD. If you recognize some or all of these symptoms, you may or may not have TMD, but it would be worth having a neuromuscular dentist rule it out.
The jaw joint
The jaw joint is a delicate ball-and-socket joint, where the mandible fits into a rounded space in the skull. Between the two bone surfaces is a cartilage pad for cushioning. When there is damage in the jaw joint, the jaw muscles, opening and closing the mouth hundreds of times a day, become strained in trying to make the teeth meet comfortably and correctly. It can't be done (for reasons which need diagnosing by the neuromuscular dentist), so they become chronically stressed, inflamed, swollen, and thus the pain begins.
There are several large nerves running through the face, neck and head areas and down to the hands. They have many branches. When part of a nerve becomes compressed by swelling and inflammation, pain is the result.
In these days of computerized neuromuscular dentistry, there is no need to live with painful TMD symptoms. Make an appointment with a trained and qualified neuromuscular dentist near you, and see if you can start on a much-needed TMD treatment to end your pain.

Author: Patricia Woloch