TMJ

Temporomandibular Joints, also abbreviated TMJ sits just in front of your ears attaching your lower jaw bone to the skull. These sophisticated set of joints do a lot of awesome things. They help you speak, move your jaw up and down, chew, yawn, and perform every function that the mouth is capable of achieving.

Any problems inflicted on these joints can severely affect several parts of your mouth, ear, neck, and head. These problems can be categorized as the result of your temporomandibular joint disorder, TMD.

Symptoms of TMD

TMD is generally difficult to diagnose due to the variety of symptoms that the disorder exhibits. Typical symptoms can range from hearing pop sounds near the ears, unexplained headaches and neck pain, the ringing sound inside the ears, difficulty in chewing which would also mean that the patient would complain of pain near the ears while opening and closing their mouth.

TMJ Appliances

TMD can be troublesome, especially when they are ignored and not treated as and when the symptoms start to show up. TMJ appliances are devised to correct and reorder the issues that arise due to TMD. It is a safe and effective method of treating disorders or pain related to the TMJs. 

Patients would be advised to gain custom-made appliances to treat their disorder. TMJ appliances are known to treat a wide array of TMJ-related issues such as 

• Teeth grinding
• Signs of rheumatoid arthritis
• Soft cushion dislocation
• Pain experienced in the head, neck, and jawbone

Mouth Guard/Splints

Mouth guards or splints are TMJ appliances that are designed to reduce any amount of stress experienced by your teeth. They are generally worn by patients suffering from Bruxism to protect their teeth and to avoid having a troubled sleep at night.

Splints allow the smooth function of the muscles of the mouth, covers poor areas of teeth and repositions the lower jawbone back into the socket.

Your splints can be custom-designed based on clinical findings, symptoms, and diagnostic tests.

Mild to moderate levels of TMD can be treated with the help of appliances. However, severe cases would require a surgical approach.

For a complete analysis of your TMJs, request your appointment with MAK Dental today! Book online or call us at (707) 554-2600.