Are you waking up with a headache or a sore jaw? Has your dentist noticed that you have enamel loss? You may grind your teeth at night or you may suffer from another condition known as TMJ.
TMJ is short for temporomandibular joint disorder. It is common for the jaw joint to become tender and painful and this can lead to lock jaw if you do not speak to your Redwood City Dentist about your condition and figure out a treatment plan.
How can you test yourself to see if you have TMJ? Place your fingers next to your ears. And feel around for a small little ball and joint socket. Now open and close your mouth and pretend like you are chewing. You will be able to feel the ball and socket moving and this is normal. However some people feel pain when doing these movements or they experience a clicking or popping sound when doing these movements.
temporomandibular joint disorder
This is TMJ and your Redwood City Dental office will need to take x-rays and examine your condition in order to see what they need to do. The dentist may find that they need to perform surgery or that they need to prescribe medications to reduce the tension in the jaw and hopefully keep it from being sore and locking up.
You can help your condition by avoiding hard chewing and chewing gum. You need to try and limit the amount of time you are chewing and focus on relaxing your jaw. One thing that can help the muscles to relax and reduce the tension it may be holding is by placing a warm washcloth on the jaw. A heating pad can also help to relax the jaw. Extreme loads of stress can cause your condition to worsen so it is a good idea to also meet with a therapist and find out if there are other things you can do to reduce stress.
Temporomandibular Joint Disorders: One name for two diagnoses
Disorders of the temporomandibular joint are a source of distress and dysfunction for an estimated 10 million Americans. Additional distress occurs when both patient and medical practitioner attempt to accurately identify the problem because Temporomandibular joint disorders (TMD) is one name for two diagnoses. One diagnoses, joint TMD, presents with measurable structural damage to the cartilage and ligaments located within the joint itself. The other, muscular TMD, presents as a painful condition of the muscles involved in chewing, and often involving the muscles of the scalp, base of the neck and shoulders. Sometimes both conditions occur simultaneously.
Using her signature “taking the box out of thinking” approach, Dr. Mormile boldly identifies and explains both to clinicians and patients alike.
About the author:
Catherine Mormile, PT, DPT, OCS, MA, OTR/L
With a background of independent thinking, academic excellence, and scientific inquiry, doctor of physical therapy Catherine
List Price: $ 56.95
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Management of Temporomandibular Disorders and Occlusion
Covering both new and proven techniques in this rapidly changing field, this bestselling book helps you provide solutions to many common occlusal and TMD problems. Clear descriptions ensure that you develop a complete understanding of normal occlusion and masticatory function allowing you to better appreciate and manage abnormal occlusion and masticatory dysfunction. With this book’s conservative, cost-effective approach, you’ll achieve your treatment goals while keeping the best interests of your patients in mind.
Provides thorough coverage of physical examination of the masticatory system, as an invaluable aid for diagnosis.Includes diagnostic algorithms for various classes of disorders, as a handy reference for sorting through signs and symptoms of key functional disorders.Depicts treatment principles visually with case examples for each major treatment chapter.Presents a comprehensive discussion of the etiology of temporomandibular disorders, providing background on the caus
List Price: $ 109.00
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Textbook and Color Atlas of Temporomandibular Joint: Diseases, Disorders, Surgery
Royal College of Surgeons of England. Clinical reference for surgeons; photographic color plates. 10 Contributors. DNLM: 1. Temporomandibular Joint Diseases.
List Price: $ 205.00
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