COULD TMJ BE CAUSING YOUR PAIN?

WHAT IS TMJ?

TMJ or Temporamandibular Joint disorder can be a very painful and very elusive condition. You may experience a terrible pain in your ear, teeth, jaw or neck. It may move from one place to another or it might develop into a migraine headache. Often it goes undiagnosed and some doctors may tell you that you are imagining the pain.

The temporamandibular joints are on each side of the head connecting your upper and lower jaws together and to your skull. They allow your jaws to open, close, rotate and move back and forth. If they are not aligned properly they can cause extreme pain in the jaw, head and neck.

Causes of this malady may be a malformation from birth, unconsciously grinding your teeth, or clenching your jaw muscles when stressed. Other causes are teeth not meeting correctly, a blow to the jaw that damages the joint, poor posture of the neck and shoulders, or arthritis in the joints.

NATURAL WAYS TO DEAL WITH TMJ

Depending on the cause the treatment can be as simple as stress management, counseling or psychotherapy or as complicated as braces or a special devise installed by a dentist to prevent grinding your teeth at night.

I would suggest trying these simple remedies first to see how severe the problem is or if this is even the problem before resorting to the more complicated remedies above.

• Try applying ice or heat to the TMJ area to relieve pain. One may work better for than the other.

• Use aspirin or acetaminophen to relieve minor pain.

• Learn to relax you jaw and limit its movements. You can put your fist under your jaw to block a yawn.

• Eat a soft diet and avoid chewy foods, such as bagels, when your symptoms are bad. Massage the TMJ area.

• Avoid chewing gum

Even though TMJ may be hard to pinpoint and difficult to diagnose, do not let anyone dismiss your pain until you have explored the possibility of TMJ.