What Causes TMJ Pain?

Living with TMJ pain can affect your daily life. When the temporomandibular joint or TMJ is fatigued or damaged, it can cause TMJ pain. With the help of Dr. Spiker Davis and Dr. Matt Guerre at Cosmetic Dental Associates in Houston, TX, you can find TMJ pain relief for your temporomandibular joint dysfunction. Our professional team can diagnose and treat TMD symptoms. We provide customized treatment plans for restoring your oral health. Our TMJ specialists understand what you’re going through and can observe your jaw’s range of motion to suggest adequate treatment options to reduce or eliminate your TMJ pain.

What is the TMJ?

The TMJ is a hinge joint that connects the lower jaw directly to the skull. It allows it to slide forward and helps with proper oral function. When the muscles, joints, or surrounding tissues become inflamed, damaged, or overworked, problems develop. TMD refers to any type of dysfunction or issue that affects the normal function of this joint.

Oftentimes this dysfunction is due to a mechanical problem. The TMJ joint is a hinge with sliding parts, where are separated by a shock-absorbing disc, which helps to keep movement smooth. When dysfunction occurs, the disk can erode, shift out of alignment, or become damaged. Dr. Davis and Dr. Guerre can find ways to restore oral function and to treat TMJ pain in Houston, TX for their patients.

TMD Symptoms

The symptoms of TMD will vary from patient to patient. If you’re experiencing TMJ pain and any of these symptoms, a TMJ specialist from Cosmetic Dental Associates can help. These symptoms can include:

Toothache
Pain in the neck, face, jaw, or shoulders
Tooth sensitivity
Clicking or popping in the jaw
Tinnitus
Frequent headaches or earaches
Stiff or stuck jaw
Difficulty biting or chewing
Worn biting edges

If you notice any changes to your bite, it’s important to contact our professional team at Cosmetic Dental Associates in Houston, TX. We can diagnose you with TMD and create a personalized treatment plan that hopes to relieve your TMJ pain as soon as possible.

Diagnosing TMD

During a TMJ evaluation visit with Dr. Davis or Dr. Guerre, we will learn about your symptoms and any past medical history that may relate to your jaw problem. Next, we will observe your range of motion and listen to how your jaw sounds when you open and close your mouth. We also will feel your jaw to locate any uncomfortable or painful spots. We will take x-rays to look at what’s going inside the joint that we cannot see with the naked eye.

A bite analysis can be used to help us to identify if you have an overbite, underbite, open bite, or crossbite, which can lead to TMJ pain too. Depending on the severity of your TMJ pain and TMD, we may prescribe a muscle relaxant or other pain-relieving medicine. If you suffer from bruxism, we may suggest a custom mouth guard. Corticosteroids and BOTOX® injections can be administered by our professional team in Houston to help reduce symptoms.

Contributing Factors to TMD

Many things can contribute to TMJ pain in our patients in Houston at Cosmetic Dental Associates. These factors can include:

Arthritis
Bite problems
Misalignment of the jaw
Teeth clenching or grinding
Anxiety
Stress
Injury

How Custom Mouthguards Help With TMJ Pain Relief

Night guards are an effective way to help patients who grinding their teeth while they sleep. Our professional team at Cosmetic Dental Associates in Houston can customize mouthguards to fit you securely and comfortably. Continuous teeth grinding can cause problems to the TMJ. This can lead to frequent earaches, headaches, pain in the jaw or face, and tinnitus.

Learn more about TMJ Pain Relief in Houston, TX

TMJ can be a debilitating disorder that leads to regular headaches, earaches, and difficulty chewing or opening the jaw. At Cosmetic Dental Associates in Houston, TX, Dr. Spiker Davis and Dr. Matt Guerre provide effective TMJ pain relief treatment options. To learn more about how to treat TMJ pain, call our professional team to schedule an appointment for TMD diagnosis today.