If a dentist has told you that you have TMJ syndrome, you'll want to know what the possible treatment options are. Thankfully, there are treatments for severe, moderate, and mild TMJ pain. By understanding what these treatments are, you can decide if you want to move forward with one of them.
Mouth Guards
Many people who have TMJ only have mild symptoms, which are possible to manage by making some small changes to their lifestyle. For starters, you'll need to avoid foods that can put stress on your jaw and aggravate the pain. This includes chewing gum and hard foods. Your dentist could also recommend using a mouth guard while you sleep to prevent teeth grinding if it is causing the TMJ pain. The mouth guard will re-align the jaw and help your jaw feel better the next day.
Splint Therapy
For more advanced cases of TMJ, splint therapy is an option. This is for when you are experiencing continuous pain around your face, neck, and head muscles, or have problems closing and opening your mouth. A dentist could recommend that you wear a jaw splint, which needs to worn all the time until treatment is complete. It helps reposition the jaw and gives your jaw muscles a chance to relax. This will relieve pain that you are feeling.
The splint is adjusted over time and will slowly correct your bite so that it is re-aligned. It could require wearing the splint for months or years, but it will help permanently correct the problems with your bite.
Surgery
In extreme situations where the patient experiences a lot of pain, surgery is recommended to manage the problem. It's common for a dentist to try a conservative treatment method first, and if that fails, to use surgery as a last resort.
The kind of surgery needed depends on the exact cause of the TMJ related pain. It may require having an initial procedure called arthroscopy. The procedure is minimally invasive and will allow your surgeon to properly examine the jaw's internal structure. Their discoveries could cause them to recommend that you get open joint surgery. It exposes the jaw's entire joint and allows the surgeon to remove your scar tissue, reposition joints, and replace discs that are deteriorating with ones that are artificial.
For more info on fixing your TMJ pain, speak to your dentist about what treatment options could work best for you or click for more info.
Share25 August 2016
Halloween is a holiday that my children love, and telling them they can't go door-to-door collecting candy would break their hearts. This led me to allowing them to collect candy on the holiday, then rationing it out to them every day instead of letting them gobble it up in just a few days. I always thought this was better for them, but my dentist told me this could be the reason why their February dental check-ups were always their worst ones. Daily candy consumption was taking a toll on their teeth. I started a new tradition of letting them indulge for two days, then giving them the option to swap the rest with me in exchange for a new toy. They never pass on the opportunity for a new toy. I created this blog to encourage other parents find similar tactics to keep their children's teeth healthy after Halloween.