TMD rarely has a single cause. Mostly it is a combination of factors that cause over stress to the jaw joint and the muscles around it. One of the most common triggers is the teeth grinding and clenching (Bruxism). Others grind their teeth unconsciously in sleep and the TMJ is under an immense strain in the long run. Jaw injury/trauma- A blow to the face or a sports injury may damage the joint and cause a trigger to the symptoms of TMD. When there is a bad bite (malocclusion), then the muscles of the jaw are overworked and thus it causes chronic tension to the joint. Stress and anxiety make a person tighten the jaw muscles and squeeze teeth unconsciously during the day that leads to TMD in the long run. Temporomandibular joint arthritis, such as osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, may also destroy the cartilage that surrounds the joint and cause the symptoms of TMD.

There are numerous ways in which TMD manifests itself, and this is why the disorder is frequently mixed with other disorders. The most frequent ones are jaw pains or soreness, particularly in the mornings or after meals, clicking, popping or grating when one opens or closes the mouth. There are also numerous instances where patients find it difficult or uncomfortable to chew, jaw gets stuck in an open or closed position, suffer a lot of headaches or migraine around the temples, and earaches or a ringing in their ears without any ear infection. Pain on the face or swelling in the area of the jaw and cheek or pain in the neck and shoulder in relation to the jaw tension is also a typical symptom of TMD. When these symptoms are frequent in your case, it is necessary to visit a dental specialist as soon as possible. At Smile O Care Dental Clinic, Lucknow, our professional staff has been trained to step down and adequately diagnose TMD and draft an individual treatment plan for every patient.

Treatment of TMD in Smile O Care

The positive side of it all is that TMD is highly treatable and the majority of the patients can get a considerable relief without necessarily undergoing surgery. In Smile O Care Dental Clinic, there are various effective and tailored treatment strategies of TMD that are offered depending on the condition of the individual patient.

Night Guards and Occlusal Splints are available as personalized dental appliances, which are worn on the teeth when asleep to prevent grinding and clenching of the teeth. They relieve the pressure on TMJ and rest the jaw muscles so that they can be relieved in the long run. Some medications that can be prescribed include muscle relaxants, use of anti-inflammatory pain relievers, and low doses of anti-depressants that can be used to control the pain and to minimize muscle spasms in TMD. Exercises and physical therapy of the jaw enable the strengthening of the jaw muscles, better mobility of the joints, and correction of bad posture which causes TMD. Our team takes each of our patients through custom-made exercise programs which can be carried out at home.

The stress management methods such as relaxation practices and lifestyle modification are encouraged to the patients whose TMD is directly related to anxiety and stress. Orthodontics or dental restorations could be recommended in situations where the cause of a misaligned bite is found to be the root cause since by correcting the bite one avoids unwarranted stress on the joint. The application of botox is gradually becoming a more effective treatment of patients with extreme jaw muscle tension. Botox is also used in small doses to relax the jaw muscles to alleviate a lot of pain and grinding. Surgery is regarded as an interventional measure of the extreme and uncommon cases when all the non-surgical methods have not succeeded in relieving the patient.