TMJ Related Issues

TMJ Related Issues

What are TMJ Disorders?

Jaw joint disorders and those of the chewing muscles—and how people react to them—vary extensively.

Researchers agree that the conditions fall into three principal categories.

  1. Myofascial pain includes discomfort or moderate to severe soreness in the muscles that control jaw function.
  2. Internal derangement of the joint includes a displaced disc, dislocated jaw, or trauma to the condyle.
  3. Arthritis refers to a combination of degenerative/inflammatory joint ailments that can afflict the temporomandibular joint.
TMJ-Related-Issues-and-Solutions

A person may have one or all of these conditions simultaneously. Some have other health difficulties that co-exist with TMJ disorders; these include, sleep disturbances or fibromyalgia, a distressing condition that affects muscles and other soft tissues in the body, and chronic fatigue syndrome. These ailments share some common symptoms, which implies that they may share related underlying mechanisms of disease. However, it is not understood if they have a common cause.

Rheumatic diseases, such as arthritis, can also affect the temporomandibular joint as a subsidiary condition. Rheumatic diseases include a large group of disorders that produce pain, inflammation, and stiffness in the joints, muscles, and bone. Arthritis and some TMJ disorders include inflammation of the tissues that outline the joints.

The specific relationship between these conditions is not understood.

How jaw joint and muscle disorders advance is also not clear. Symptoms worsen and lessen over time, but what produces these changes is not known. Most people have comparatively mild forms of the disorder. Their symptoms improve significantly or cease spontaneously in weeks or months. For many others, the condition generates long-term, persistent and debilitating pain.

Dr. Mike Smith is an international leading expert and educator in the diagnosis and treatment of TMJ related issues.

What Causes TMJ Disorders?

Injury or shock to the jaw or temporomandibular joint plays a part in some TMJ disorders. But for many jaw joint and muscle problems, experts don’t know the causes. Since the condition is more prevalent in women than in men, scientists are examining a possible link between female hormones and TMJ disorders.

For many TMJ disorder sufferers, symptoms appear to start without apparent reason. Research opposes the widespread belief that a bad bite or orthodontic braces can trigger TMJ disorders.

There is no conclusive evidence that clicking sounds in the jaw joint leads to serious problems. In truth, jaw sounds are normal in the general population. Jaw noises, without being accompanied by pain, or limited jaw movement, do not indicate a TMJ disorder.

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