redwood city TMJ, Headaches & Migraines Treatment

TMJ is short hand for the temporomandibular joint. Similarly, TMD stands for temporomandibular joint dysfunction or disorder. They are typically used interchangeably when describing the pain and compromised movement of the jaw joint as well as the surrounding muscles. As the joint inflames, it can be incredibly painful for patients and often causes lock jaw, jaw clicking, and difficulty chewing or opening the mouth wide. Many people who have this condition have limited mouth function, cannot chew effectively, have chronic tension headaches, and other pain that affects the quality of their lives.

The symptoms of TMD vary quite a bit depending on the patient. You may experience issues like:

• Tension headaches or migraines
• Neck, back, or shoulder pain
• "Clicking" or "popping" jaw
• Jaw pain or soreness
• Limited mouth mobility
• Chronic sinus tightness
• Locking of the jaw
• Ear ringing
• Bruxism

If you notice any of these symptoms, we recommend scheduling an appointment right away.

The temporomandibular joints connect your jaw to your skull and their muscles allow movement, including opening and closing of the mouth and moving side-to-side when eating. When teeth are aligned and working together correctly, no excessive amount of strain is added to these joints or muscles outside of the normal functioning. However, a damaged joint or any faulty contact of the teeth when chewing adds additional stress to these muscles, which may click, pop, spasm, or freeze as a result. Many times, clenching and grinding (bruxism) of the teeth is associated with this condition as well.

TMD and TMJ pain is caused by a variety of different issues:

• Direct trauma to the temporomandibular joint
• Bite and tooth alignment issues
• Bruxism or teeth grinding
• Lifestyle issues, such as excessive gum chewing
• Inflammatory and autoimmune disorders, like arthritis

Because TMD and TMJ pain can be caused by so many different health issues, it’s important to see an experienced Redwood City dentist when seeking care.

There are many reasons a patient may suffer from chronic headaches and migraines. But as it relates to dentistry, common causes include:

• Infected tooth
• Teeth grinding (bruxism)
• Jaw muscle fatigue
• TMJ Disorder

Some cases of mild TMD may go away on their own with lifestyle changes, such as ceasing gum chewing, de-stressing to eliminate teeth clenching, and more. However, if you suffer from the symptoms of TMD for more than a week or two, your condition may be chronic. To learn more about your specific case of TMD, it’s best to seek a qualified, experienced dentist to get the help you need.

There are a few steps you can take to treat TMJ pain on your own. Jaw exercises may help strengthen the jaw muscles and joints, which can help provide you with relief from the effects of TMD.

In addition, applying hot and cold compresses to the area at 10-minute intervals can help with inflammation and control the pain and discomfort of TMD as your jaw heals.

It’s also a good idea to take steps to decrease jaw clenching, such as exercising and de-stressing to reduce the likelihood of nighttime teeth grinding. You may also want to consider ceasing gum chewing, and eating a diet of mostly soft foods to minimize the work your jaw muscles must do while they heal.

You can also use over-the-counter medicines like ibuprofen and acetaminophen to help control pain and inflammation as your jaw heals, and you recover from TMD.

While some cases of TMD are minor and can be resolved with these simple steps and other at-home remedies, you should consider seeking help if you experience serious pain and discomfort, or if your symptoms persist for 1-2 weeks or longer.

For some patients, wearing an NTI splint at night does not effectively alleviate symptoms of their TMD. Many times, this is because they suffer from faulty contact when their teeth touch that causes disturbances in their mouth during the day when they chew. To protect the back teeth from touching in unideal locations when chewing, the jaw muscles reflex and freeze to avoid these teeth from cracking or fracturing. This spasming of the muscles can trigger clenching and grinding, which also wears heavily on the teeth and can cause further damage. Disclusion Time Reduction (DTR) therapy is used to treat the most severe cases of TMD.