Dentists are great - they work to protect oral health and our teeth. It must be said, our teet are very important and any jaw pain that doesn't fit a recognised pattern should be assessed by a dentist to make sure that the teeth, gums and mouth are all ok.
But when it comes to Temporomandibular joint problems, they are limited in what they may be able to offer to help. Dentists will look mostly at bracing and splinting these problems, which is fantastic and certainly helps, but often people will continue to experience pain and dysfunction. Dentists will then refer to physiotherapists for assistance.
What is the Temporomandibular joint?
The Temporomandibular joint or TMJ is the joint where your jaw bone joins the rest of the skull. It is located just in front of the tragus of your ears on both sides and is one of the most used joints in the body! With eating, talking, yawning, chewing and clenching (often in stressful times), the TMJ is always working and moving!
What can go wrong?
There are lots of things that can go wrong with the TMJ - but it is most important to remember it is like any other joint in the body. It moves, and there are muscles controlling that movement. Problems in the TMJ can revolve around the muscles or the joint.
One of the more common injuries involves the disc in this joint. When there is clicking or pain, this disc is often sitting in the wrong spot and this creates a very uncomfortable feeling. The click often happens as the disc clicks in the joint movement. Often, people may start with a click, but the click goes away - only for the pain to return. This is not a good sign and indicates that the disc is further out of position in the joint space.
Apart from clicking - what else can happen?
Clicking is one thing, but other things can happen that may make us think of a jaw problem. This includes deviations in movement on opening or closing the mouth, limited range of movement (especially with opening or closing the mouth), changes in occlusion of the teeth, headaches and pain radiating into the neck, head or front of the face.
How do we treat it?
Just like every other joint in the body, we need to undertake a full assessment to ascertain what is going wrong and where. From here, we can develop a treatment plan, which may involve joint mobilisations, massage, dry needling, but almost certainly exercise! This exercise is aiming at improving the mechanics of the joint and reducing the aggravating factors. This is where, inconjunction with night splints from dentists, clenching and stress management can be addressed as well.
So - if you have jaw pain - have you considered a physiotherapist? Contact us for a FREE initial assessment to see if we can help you - or if you need to make an appointment with a dentist. Please call 95801985 or click the link here to book in