Temporomandibular Disorders
- What is TMJ?
- What causes TMJ disorders?
- Do I have a TMJ disorder?
- How do the doctors evaluate me for a TMJ disorder?
- What are the available treatments?
- What is a nightguard? Do I need one?
- What are trigger point injections? Do I need one?
- What are Joint injections? Do I need one?
What is TMJ?
‘TMJ’ stands for Temporomandibular (jaw) Joint. It is the joint that allows us to open and close our jaws and perform other functions such as chewing, talking, yawning, speaking etc.
Normal TMJ closed mouth position
Normal TMJ open mouth position
What causes TMJ disorders?
Trauma, Jaw clenching, grinding (bruxism), Arthritis (inflammation of the joint), Oral habits (excessive gum chewing, nail biting, ice chewers), Stress and anxiety not directly linked, but can exacerbate the problem.
Do I have a TMJ disorder?
You may have a TMJ disorder if you have one or more of these clinical features: Pain or soreness around jaw joints, Limited jaw movement or locking jaw, Clicking or grating sounds in the jaw joints, Congestion or stuffiness of the ears with or without pain, Dizziness or ringing in the ear, Facial pain or numbness, Neck and/or shoulder pain, Headaches.
How do the doctors evaluate me for a TMJ disorder?
The doctors will listen to your history and perform a thorough clinical evaluation including any necessary radiographs or scans and will provide a diagnosis and treatment plan tailored to your condition.
What are the available treatments?
TMJ treatment is conservative and non-surgical and involves the following: Soft diet, Physical therapy, jaw exercises, medications including anti-inflammatories, muscle relaxants, trigger point injections, joint injections and nightguard. If your case is more severe, then you will be referred exclusively to Dr. Ram who specializes in TMJ disorders and pain and he will do a more thorough exam and tests. He conducts research on TMJ disorders and has published several articles in this field. To read one of Dr. Ram’s articles, please click on the link below:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16967674
What is a nightguard? Do I need one?
A nightguard is a device that covers your upper or lower teeth and is custom fabricated in a dental laboratory to fit your teeth. The doctors will determine if you need a night guard depending on whether or not you have a habit of tooth grinding, clenching or jaw pain. Nightguards have been shown to protect teeth and are modestly effective in managing TMJ pain.
What are trigger point injections? Do I need one?
A trigger point is a taut band of muscle. Trigger point injections are anesthetic (lidocaine) injections done in the facial muscles when the muscle is extremely painful and there is pain referral on palpation of the muscle. During the clinical examination Dr. Ram, the specialist in this area, will determine if you have a trigger point and will decide if you need one depending on your response to medications, soft diet and physical therapy.
What are Joint injections? Do I need one?
A joint injection is an anesthetic block (lidocaine) that is done for cases that have severe inflammation of the TMJ that fails to respond to anti-inflmmatory medications, soft diet and physical therapy or the cases with severe limitation of mouth opening. During the clinical examination Dr. Ram will determine if you need one depending on your response to medications, soft diet and physical therapy.