TMJ disorder impacts smiles across the country, and could lead to painful headaches and jaw pain. Our team can bring relief to protect your smile from oral health complications and discomfort. In today’s blog, your Virginia Beach, VA, dentist talks about our approach to diagnosing and treating your TMJ disorder.
The Causes of TMJ Disorder
What causes TMJ disorder in our smiles? The underlying factors often upset bite balance, which strains the jaw joints and leads to this painful disorder. Common causes include injury to the teeth or jaw, missing teeth, issues with the growth of the jaw or the eruption of the teeth, untreated bruxism (teeth grinding), and even a high level of stress in your smile. As part of our treatment process, we will carefully examine the smile with digital technology to assess the presence of wear and friction, and to gain an understanding of the causes of severity of your TMJ dysfunction. From there, we create a personalized treatment plan.
Warning Signs
How do you know you need to seek treatment in the first place? Well, there are a number of different symptoms that could indicate the presence of TMJ issues. For example, you could experience a popping or crackling sensation in your jaw, headaches or jaw pain, neck aches and shoulder pain, or if you grind your teeth, toothaches and tooth sensitivity. When you experience chronic pain in and around your had and jaw, you need to seek a diagnosis with our team right away. We want to bring relief and protect you from complications, like issues opening and closing your mouth or even damaged teeth due to bruxism!
Oral Appliance Therapy
An oral appliance will provide relief and protect your smile from further discomfort. We will take detailed digital images and impressions of your jaw from multiple angles, and use them to design and create a custom oral appliance. The device will be worn like a mouthguard, and fits comfortably to bring relief to your smile. The device repositions the jaw to ease strain, and places a barrier between the upper and lower teeth to prevent further damage from occurring. You can also help with a warm washcloth against the face to ease strain, or by avoiding caffeinated products or foods that are hard and chewy.
If you have any questions about how we diagnose and treat issues like TMJ disorder and bruxism, or if you have discomfort that needs attention, then contact our team today to learn more.
Schedule A Visit Today to Discuss Family Dentistry
Don’t let pain in your face or jaw persist, talk to our team about a possible solution. Call Absolute Dental Care in Virginia Beach, VA at (757) 428-7440 to schedule an appointment and discuss our approach to family dentistry!
