TMJ or temporomandibular joint is the one that connects your skull and the jawbones. The TMJ syndrome can be caused by the disorder of the nerves and jaw muscles due to any inflammation or injury to your temporomandibular joint. Your inflamed or injured temporomandibular joint can lead to pain with cracking. Clicking, chewing and popping of your jaw. To overcome the TMJ syndrome, you can consult a TMJ specialist in Albuquerque NM. Here we have mentioned a few things that you need to know about TMJ syndrome.
Signs Of TMJ Syndrome
Some of the common symptoms of TMJ syndrome in older patients are mentioned below.
- The patient may hear ‘click’ sound or any other noise in the jaw
- The patients may experience frequent neck aches, debilitating headaches, pain in the jaw area, stiff shoulders, and have pain in areas such as temple, ears, and cheek
- The patient may become sensitive to sound
- The patient may experience increased dizziness
- Jaw clenching or teeth grinding may lead to muscle spam
- While speaking or chewing, the patients may experience jaw locking, jaw popping, and jaw- or joint-related issues
Even though the exact symptoms of TMJ syndrome in adults haven’t been identified yet, the disorder may be connected to certain factors that become more prevalent as you age. Some of the symptoms mentioned by the dentist in Albuquerque NM are
- Onset of arthritis which may affect the various joints in the body
- Trauma to the cartilage or joint
- The adults may experience changes in tooth structure
- The adults may experience muscle spasms in some of the areas such as jaw, neck or head
TMJ Syndrome – Prevention Measures
Some of the prevention measures of TMJ syndrome are mentioned below.
- Try to keep your teeth apart and lips together to relax your face
- You can regularly massage your temples, jaw and cheeks
- Take smaller bites and try to chew on both sides
- Consider using ergonomic furniture and practice good posture
- Try to avoid resting your chin on your hand
- Try to support your lower jaw using your hand while yawning
- You need to avoid cradling your phone between your shoulder and neck
- Avoid biting objects such as pencil, pens, cuticles, fingernails, etc.
- Try to avoid or reduce chewing hard foods
- Avoid clenching or grinding your teeth
TMJ syndrome – Treatment
Initially, the dentist in Albuquerque NM will examine the joint tissue in the hinge of the jaw. Cold compresses or common pain relievers can provide temporary relief for the patients. For serious cases, the best dentist Albuquerque may recommend using a mouth guard to relieve teeth grinding. For the most severe cases of TMJ, the specialist may recommend certain invasive procedures to treat the TMJ syndrome.
