Jaw Joint Diseases
What are Temporomandibular Joint Diseases?
Temporomandibular joint disorders describe a group of diseases that affect our jaw joints and the muscles that help us chew.
Scientific studies have shown that 20%-30% of the population has this disease, with a higher incidence in women.
Temporomandibular joint disorders can be any of the following;
- Acute trauma (sudden blow to the jaw or facial area)
- Chronic Trauma (voluntary or involuntary grinding)
- Psychological stress
- Poor bite
- Temporomandibular joint arthritis
- Tumors of the temporomandibular joint.
- Some systemic diseases such as osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis can also cause jaw joint disorders
What are the Symptoms?
- Pain and tenderness in front of the ear during daily activities such as eating, yawning and talking.
- Feeling as if the mouth will remain open or closed during these activities (locking sensation)
- Pain and spasm in the facial muscles
- Clicking or rubbing sounds from the jaw joint when opening and closing the mouth
- Pain that starts in the face and radiates to the head, neck and back
- Waking up in the morning feeling tired and not well rested all the while waking up with pain, dizziness, ringing and buzzing in the ears
How is it treated?
We basically treat the underlying cause. One or more of the following methods can be applied:
- Soft diet, avoiding opening the mouth too much,
- Physical therapy
- Intraoral occlusal splinting (occlusal splints have a healing effect on the jaw joint and masticatory muscles),
- The use of anti-inflammatory drugs, painkillers and muscle relaxants, sometimes in combination with low doses of antidepressants,
- Regulation of visits to the dentist,
- Elimination of tooth defects,
- Orthodontic treatment
- Activities to reduce stress,
- In rare cases when these treatments do not produce results, surgical intervention may be used.