Temporomandibular Joint (or TMJ) disorders affect millions of people. The condition is characterized by symptoms like jaw pain, stiffness, or tenderness, pain in one or both joints, facial or ear aches, a clicking or locking jaw, and difficulty or pain when chewing.
As you can imagine, this could have an extreme impact on your life, impairing your ability to eat, drink, and communicate. What causes TMJ Disorder? What can you do to prevent precursors from turning into TMJ disorders? Here’s what you should know if you’re already experiencing a stiff jaw.
Causes
There are many potential causes for the onset of TMJ disorders, and it’s not always clear which is to blame. This can make the condition difficult to treat effectively. However, there are several potential causes.
What you need to understand is that the TMJ moves in two ways. It not only features a hinge action, which allows your jaw to open and close, but it can also slide, allowing your jaw a limited range of motion back and forth and side to side. This is all designed to help you chew a wide variety of foods.
Within the TMJ is cartilage and a cushioning disk. TMJ disorders occur when the cartilage, the disk, or the joint itself is damaged or out of alignment. This could be due to another condition like arthritis or bruxism (clenching and grinding teeth). It could be the result of injury or illness. The good news is there are treatment options that could help you to prevent TMJ disorders or treat them when they occur.
Prevention
Early detection is often essential in stopping one condition from ballooning into something more serious. If you’re experiencing stiffness or pain in your jaw, you need to see your dentist and/or your doctor for diagnosis and treatment. If you have arthritis, your doctor will help you to come up with a treatment plan, and in the meantime, you can watch what you eat (opting for soft instead of hard-to-chew foods), massage your jaw, treat it with hot or cold compresses, and use ibuprofen to relieve pain.
As for bruxism, your dentist can create a custom night guard for you to wear to prevent pain and other symptoms, as well as further damage. Unfortunately, bruxism is thought to be linked to high levels of stress, so you’ll also want to find ways to reduce stress in order to eliminate bruxism before it can cause TMJ disorders. If injury or illness is to blame, simply giving your body time to heal could do the trick.
