What Is TMJ/TMD?

Do you ever experience a clicking or popping sound when opening or closing your mouth? Have you been suffering from headaches or migraines and no one seems to be able to help you? Have you been taking pain medicine for years and would like to get off of it? Do you feel any clogging or congestion in one or both of your ears? These are just a few of many symptoms that might be associated with TMD, or Temporomandibular Dysfunction, a common condition affecting the jaw joint or Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ).

TMJ dysfunction, often referred to as TMD, is a disharmony between the way the jaw joint works in an unstrained position and the way the teeth and bite work during those movements. Possible causes of this disharmony include tooth loss, accidents (like whiplash), mal-positioned and/or underdeveloped cranial or jawbones, and perhaps habits like clenching or teeth grinding. Many people go through life suffering from headaches and a variety of facial and neck pains without knowing the ultimate cause, which in many cases is TMJ disorder.

TMJ or The Temporomandibular Joint

They are the two joints which connect the lower jaw to the temporal bone at the side of the head. If you place your fingers just in front of your ears and open your mouth, you can feel the joint on each side of the head. Because these joints are flexible, the jaw can move smoothly up and down and side to side, enabling us to talk, chew and yawn. When the TMJ is not functioning normally and it is not within its physiological limits, it creates a condition called TMD, or Temporomandibular Dysfunction.

TMD is a group of conditions resulting from not having a normal function or "comfortable" positioning of the TMJ, and will present as a cycle of pain, muscle spasms and jaw problems. When teeth are missing, out of alignment, crowded or misshaped, chewing and biting cannot be achieved in a balanced way, so the TMJ and the muscles of chewing try to compensate for this unbalanced movement which results in symptoms that will confirm the presence of TMD.

Temporomandibular Joint Disorder (TMD) is not just a disorder, but a group of conditions, often painful, that affect the jaw joint or Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ) and the muscles that control chewing.

TMD falls into three main categories:

Myofascial pain, the most common form of TMD, which is discomfort or pain in the muscles that control jaw functions and the neck and shoulder muscles.

Internal derangement of the joint meaning a dislocated or displaced disc or injury to the condyle (the rounded part at the end of the jaw bone).

Degenerative joint disease such as Osteoarthritis or Rheumatoid Arthritis in the jaw joint. Causes of TMJ/TMD

To help diagnose a TMJ disorder, you want to look for the following symptoms that are generally related to TMD.

• Jaw Pain
• Jaw Clicking
• Limited Mouth Opening
• Jaw Locking
• Face Pain
• Eye Pain
• Ear Pain

If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, please call our office at (San Leandro) 510-351-6820, (Concord) 925-827-2798 and we'll be happy to discuss them further and talk possible treatments that are available and would work best for you.

There are many causes for TMD such as:

1. Unbalanced occlusion or 'Bad Bite'
2. Stress (emotional or work/school related)
3. Injury or trauma (this could have been an injury as obvious as a blow to the jaw with a fist or something as subtle as a whiplash injury with direct trauma to the head or jaw.)
4. Teeth grinding or Bruxism

A 'Bad Bite' could be caused by any of the following:

1. Missing teeth
2. Crowded or 'crooked' teeth
3. Worn down teeth
4. Old crowns and bridges
5. Unbalanced dentures

When teeth are missing, or out of alignment, it causes the jaw to shift positions and the muscles to work harder to chew, swallow, bite, etc. and eventually will cause: muscle spasms, tension and pain.

Muscle tension and misplaced TMJ could cause the TMJ disc to be pulled out of place which will result in pain, clicking and popping in the TMJ.

If the disc is displaced for a long time, the bones will start rubbing against each other and some damage will happen to the bone, this is called Osteoarthritis.

If there is inflammation in other joints or bones of the body, it is called Osteoarthritis (Arthritis) which may involve the jaw bone and the TMJ. Some damage to the bone may be evident on the x-rays.

Posture and your bite are closely related. One affects the other involving muscles in the neck, back, pelvis, and legs.

Poor posture can place unnecessary wear and tear on your joints and cause your muscles to suffer. Your teeth are what determine how your bite goes together. Your bite then determines the position of your jaw, and in turn, the position of your head on your spine.

The teeth are part of your skeletal system and if/when improperly aligns, there is often a compensating effect on the rest of your body. The human body will adjust itself, involving the muscles in the neck, back, and even those of the pelvis, legs, and feet. Most postural problems can be improved at any age, yet the longer the problem exists, the more difficult it will be to correct.

Symptoms of a poorly postured bite include:

• Numbing or tingling sensation in the hand
• Pain in the jaw, head, neck, shoulders, back
• Difficulty clearing the ears
• One shoulder being higher than the other
• Breastbone muscles feel tender to the touch- Pant legs must be hemmed to different lengths
• Heels wear unevenly

If you suffer from frequent head or facial pain, an incorrect bite may be the cause due to constant cranial muscle strain. Headaches from dental stress are a type of muscle tension headache. A tension headache may be on one or both sides of your head and feels like a dull, non-throbbing ache that can usually be relieved by aspirin.

When you swallow, your upper and lower jaw muscles must hold your jaw firmly against the skull. Between swallowing over 2,000 times a day and a poorly aligned bite, the jaw muscles can overwork causing muscle strain which in turn leads to a headache. People who suffer from migraine pain and chronic headaches clench their jaws in a balanced, centered position. This causes extremely intense muscular contraction, but little strain on the jaw. Nighttime jaw clenching usually goes unnoticed but it sets the stage for migraine pain and chronic headache pain.