Even the most exciting transitions in your life can cause you stress. Take a new promotion for example. You may start to notice that your body is adapting to your stressors by aging differently. Ever since that promotion, you’ve been experiencing headaches and even clicking/sticking feelings in your jaws. Now you’re caught at a fork in the road: do you ignore these symptoms or take the time to visit your dentist?
Visiting your dental office could relieve your pain from your dysfunctional TMJ. Temporomandibular joint disorder (TMD) can be managed and reversed if diagnosed early enough and seek the proper medical attention. Hampton Roads Center for Cosmetic Dentistry offers TMJ therapy in Virginia Beach to help keep your teeth aligned so your teeth and TMJ can function properly.
Understanding TMJ Disorder
It’s important to be aware of the importance and function of your TMJ to truly understand what is causing your discomfort. Your temporomandibular joints are a set of triangle-shaped joints made of muscle and cartilage. These joints sit on either side of your head, just in front of your ears. They play a key role in how your mouth opens and closes—an important function for both eating and speaking. Without a properly functioning TMJ, the simplest tasks like enjoying a meal or talking with a coworker can become unpleasant and painful.
Your TMJ can become damaged for several reasons, but the most common factors that cause the disorder seems to be extreme stress, an improper bite, or sudden trauma to areas around your head and mouth. Common indicators of TMJ disorder include:
- Constant, serious headaches
- Difficulty opening and closing your mouth
- Persistent body pain in the head, face, or neck
- Stiffness in your jaw
- Ringing or pressure in your ears
- Sticking or clicking when opening and closing your mouth
The Consequences of Ignoring TMJ Disorder
Typically, TMJ disorder is not a life-threatening or long-lasting disorder if you get treatment for it. However, if you choose to let it go untreated, TMJ disorder can negatively impact your overall quality of life.
Patients that experienced clicking in their jaws were studied and those that didn’t seek treatment eventually developed severe jaw pain, intense headaches, body pain, and ringing in the ears. Patients also experienced levels of depression and anxiety because your sleep and mood become affected. Although all the risk factors of TMD haven’t been discovered, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is currently conducting research to unveil the unknowns about the disorder.
Your Dentist in Virginia Beach Can Help
Neuromuscular Dentistry for Diagnosis
As a neuromuscular dentist, Dr. Morgan can diagnose the cause of your symptoms and recommend the best form of therapy for relief. Thanks to a number of technological advancements, our neuromuscular dentistry treatments can help restore proper jaw function and alignment. It’s easy! First, we use a Transcutaneous Electrical Neural Stimulation (TENS) unit to assess your dental issue. The TENS unit delivers low-frequency electrical impulses to the muscles that control jaw movement, causing them to relax. Our K-7 machine records the relaxed position of the jaw, so Dr. Morgan can determine the best way to permanently correct the problem.
Treatment options
When we’ve discovered exactly how your jaw needs to be realigned or relaxed, we will first recommend a custom orthotic appliance. This will help to hold your jaw in the correct place to restore function. After a period of three months, we will revisit your mouth and jaw to see if there were any improvements. If you still need assistance, we have more extensive options for treatment.
If you’re ready to confront your clicking jaw, contact our office. We would be happy to schedule an appointment for you!
