Your temporomandibular joints, or TMJs, that control your jaw’s movement are complex, and when an issue develops in the joints, it isn’t always as straight-forward as other common dental issues. For instance, the symptoms aren’t the same for everyone, and neither is the exact cause of the condition. At our Virginia Beach, VA, dental office, however, we offer custom solutions to help patients overcome the discomfort and dysfunction of TMJ disorder and alleviate chronic headaches associated with it.
What Is TMJ disorder?
TMJ disorder is a collective term that means damage, misalignment, inflammation, or other forms of injury to one or both of your TMJs. Because of the damage, your jaw can no longer function and move as smoothly as it needs to, exposing the joints to excessive amounts of stress and pressure. This stress not only makes it increasingly more difficult for your bite to function, but also aggravates your jaw’s nerves, leading to chronic headaches and much more.
Other symptoms you might experience
In addition to chronic headaches, TMJ disorder can also cause increasingly more frequent aches and pains in your jaw, mouth, face, head, neck, and shoulders. That’s because the trigeminal nerve that controls your jaw’s movement also innervates much of the rest of the region. Disturbances to your TMJs can therefore affect much more than just your jaw and oral health.
How your dentist can alleviate it
For many patients, we can help alleviate the conditions and symptoms of TMJ disorder with the help of TruDenta® bite analysis technology. Using an advanced digital T-scan, the technology precisely measures bite forces to determine where discrepancies and imbalances are most prominent. Then, the analysis can be used to design an appliance that effectively corrects those discrepancies.
Find out if your headaches are TMJ related
Chronic headaches are just one of many common symptoms of TMJ disorder, a dysfunction that affects the dominant nerves in your jaw, face, and head. To learn more, schedule a consultation by calling the Absolute Dental Care office in Virginia Beach, VA, today at (757) 428-7440. We proudly welcome patients from Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Norfolk, Suffolk, Hampton, Eastern Shore, and all surrounding communities.
