What is TMJ? Bend, OR
If you are experiencing jaw pain or stiffness, clicking or popping sounds when moving the jaw, difficulty chewing, and even headaches or earaches, you could be experiencing problems with your temporomandibular joint (TMJ). Some individuals may also experience facial tenderness, neck pain, or a locked jaw.
What is TMJ?
Your temporomandibular joint, also simplified to TMJ, is what connects your jaw to the rest of your skull. When you have TMJ dysfunction (TMD), you will experience symptoms like stiffness, pain, lockjaw, the clicking of the jaw, headaches, and excessive fatigue. TMD can range in severity, so your best treatment option would be somewhat based on how severe your condition is. In addition, we need to ensure that we treat the specific cause so that the symptoms do not continue. We will develop a more specific treatment plan for you at Cascadia Family Dental when you come in and see us. On the other hand, TMD refers to a disease or an illness of the temporomandibular joint. TMD also causes pain in the neck, muscle stiffness, jaw locking, clicking, and headaches. Popping or tingling of the jaw area, joint, ears, and malocclusion of the jaw change teeth alignment.
Diagnosing TMJ or TMD
TMJ disorders (TMD) are diagnosed through a combination of medical history, physical examination, and sometimes imaging tests like X-rays, CT scans, or MRIs. Our team will assess jaw movement, listen for clicking or popping sounds, and check for tenderness or misalignment. Treatment varies based on severity.
Home Treatments
Treatments you can do at home include the use of an ice pack, keeping your teeth apart frequently to loosen the jaw, eating soft food, and using a TENS unit. TENS stands for “Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation.” This treatment sends very small electrical currents into the muscle to loosen the joint and reduce inflammation.
In-Office Treatment
You may need in-office treatment, such as trigger-point injections, laser therapy, radio wave therapy, and dental work to correct misalignment or tooth damage. Trigger-point injections involve pain medication or anesthetic being injected into certain points in the face that will relieve jaw pain. Laser therapy reduces inflammation and loosens the joint. Radio wave therapy also relieves pain and increases blood flow.
Surgical Treatments
Arthrocentesis is used if you have lockjaw, but not a major history of TMD. We provide local anesthesia and then use a needle to flush out your jaw joint. We may also need to manipulate the joint itself if components are stuck together. Arthroscopy lets our dentist view the inside of your jaw using a small camera attached to a tube. We make the incision just in front of your ear. Arthroscopy helps with diagnosis, but it also gives our dentist the chance to remove or realign the tissues. Open joint surgery is only used if all other options have failed. During open joint surgery, for which you receive general anesthesia, we will remove and reshape both soft tissue and bone tissue.
Tired of Jaw Pain?
If you are experiencing jaw pain or stiffness, clicking or popping sounds when moving the jaw, difficulty chewing, headaches, earaches, or any other tenderness in the face, neck, or jaw, be sure to reach out to us. Our professionals at Cascadia Family Dental can help diagnose and treat your TMJ/TMD. Call us today to schedule an appointment: (541) 848-5139.