FACIO-AESTHETIC & IMPLANT DENTISTRY
AND
COMPREHENSIVE DENTISTRY OF ORANGE BEACH

 

TMD

Temporomandibular Disorders

Do you have pain in your teeth, jaw, or face? Do you have trouble chewing? Does your jaw make a clicking or popping sound? These are symptoms caused by TMD.

TMD causes many kinds of symptoms. Common TMD problems include tight muscles, inflamed joints, and damaged joints. In some cases, symptoms may be related to the teeth or bite. You may have headaches, tooth pain, or muscle aches. Symptoms also may occur without any apparent reason.

Tight muscles can go into spasm and cause pain. Symptoms of inflamed joints  may include swelling, heat, pain or loss of function. Many people hear clicking when their jaw moves. If you feel pain along with the noise, the joint may be damaged.

The TMJ (Temporomandibular joint) is a ball and socket joint located where the upper and lower jaws meet. You have one joint on each side of your mouth. These joints are part of a large group of muscles, ligaments, and bones that work together as a system. When you have a healthy system, you can chew, talk, and yawn in comfort.

Learning more about your problem can help relieve and treat your symptoms. Our office will take your history, perform an exam, and help you with treatment. Some questions we will ask you to help guide us to detect your condition are:

  • Discomfort while talking, chewing or yawning
  • Headaches
  • Do you clench or grind your teeth
  • Discomfort in the neck, ear, shoulder or back
  • Clicking or popping noises
  • Problems opening or closing you mouth
  • Any recent changes in your bite

If you have any of these symptoms, please call our office for a thourough examination with Dr. Dunavant.

 


 

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QUESTIONS?

We noticed that certain questions concerning important basic dental health issues are repeatedly asked, indicating to us a need for public dissemination of this information. We have decided to answer one or two questions per issue submitted to our e-mail. So e-mail us with your questions. This issue’s question is:

“Can a bad tooth cause pain elsewhere?” Yes, pain cannot only be referred from a bad tooth to other parts of the head but also from other parts of the head to a tooth. For example, sinusitis often causes perfectly good upper teeth to ache. Pain can refer from an inflamed or infected tooth to an adjacent or even an opposing tooth (upper to lower or visa versa). Usually referred pain is on the same side of the head as the source, but not always. Chronic Pain that is referred is more difficult to localize than acute pain. This is because the entire nerve trunk has become involved, much like phantom pain from an amputated limb. It is recommended to seek help before pain becomes chronic. Also, as difficult as it may be, try not to take pain meds before the examination.