Tension Headaches - In Your Local Area

New Responses to TMJ Disorder and Jaw Pain

Some 10 million people suffer from some form of TMJ Disorder: from jaw clicking or jaw popping whenever they yawn to intense migraine-like pain in the area around their ears. The temporomandibular joint is the hinge between your jaw and skull. The bone and muscles permit your jaw to move—not just up and down, but left and right, in and out. This kind of complexity is what makes TMJ Syndrome so common, and often so difficult to diagnose.

Helping You Solve the Problem

Modern dentistry has a whole array of TMJ Disorder responses—so your first response should be to make an appointment.

For some people, the answer may be a custom-fitted mouth guard to keep them from teeth grinding in their sleep. There’s even a battery-powered miniature sensing device, worn at night, to alert you when grinding occurs. Another plug-in device helps eliminate spasms and jaw pain by applying moist heat to the source of the pain for several minutes at a time.

If the problem stems from tooth alignment, orthodontic treatment can relieve the stress. Physical therapy, anti-inflammatory drugs, muscle relaxants and stress management are all possibilities. The key, as always, is identifying the problem and then finding the response that works best for you.

Possible causes of TMJ Disorder

• Nightly teeth grinding (bruxism)
• Poor head/shoulder posture, causing tension in neck and jaw muscles
• Arthritis in the joint
• Damaged jawbone/joint structure
• Nerves being pinched by ball of jaw

+Jim Du Molin is a leading Internet search expert helping individuals and families connect with the right dentist in their area. Visit his author page.

Subliminal Stuff: Teeth Grinding and TMJ

Sensitivity to heat and cold. Loosened teeth, fractures, and a debilitating headache. All this can occur while you sleep - from grinding your teeth. Dentistry calls it bruxism.

Talk about shell shock. Dentists see evidence of life in the fast lane everyday. As many as 90 percent of us grind our teeth each night, on the average of five episodes per evening. The bite force is so powerful - over 200 pounds per square inch - and the noise so fearful, you cannot physically duplicate this phenomenon when you're wide awake. While you're sleeping, a lot of damage is being done that could be causing TMJ symptoms.

Bruxing seems to be associated with the REM stage of sleep, that never-never land where dreaming and rapid eye movement occur. There is some evidence that a bite out of alignment contributes to bruxing, but most agree stress is the problem. Or, even more alarming, the anticipation of stress.

Most people learn about a bruxing habit from the spouse who has to put up with it every night. More clues; waking up in the morning with jaw pain, jaw popping, jaw clicking, migraine or muscle fatigue and loose teeth.

Physical therapy, muscle relaxants and, sometimes, a custom dental appliance can help. But learning how to handle the stress in your life could salvage more than your teeth and help eliminate TMJ syndrome.

+Jim Du Molin is a leading Internet search expert helping individuals and families connect with the right dentist in their area. Visit his author page.