TMJ disorder Could Mean Tension

Do you have tension and stiffness in your jaw, or possibly chronic headaches or popping sensation? If so, then you may have TMJ disorder and will require treatment. Our team can offer a comfortable and custom treatment option! In today’s blog, your Pella, IA, dentist talks about oral appliance therapy.

The Warning Signs of TMD

How do you know if you need to seek treatment with our team? Warning signs could include chronic pain in the face and jaw, headaches and migraines, or even stiffness and tension. Popping or clicking in the jaw could be a sign of trouble too, along with aches in your neck and shoulders. When you have persistent pain in your smile, then reach out for a diagnosis. Our team will carefully examine the smile to assess the cause and severity of your TMJ disorder, which allows us to select the most appropriate treatment option for you.

Common Causes and Long-Term Impacts

The issue could be caused by factors that upset overall bite balance, such as malocclusion, missing teeth, injury to the jaw or face, or complications with the growth of your jaw or the arrival of your teeth. Without treatment, this could alter how you open and close your mouth, and also increases the risk of bruxism. Chronic teeth grinding, or bruxism, could then damage your smile and leave it vulnerable to issues like tooth decay and infection. Don’t let this impact your quality of life and oral health any further. Instead, talk to our team about a noninvasive and comfortable treatment option.

Treatment

Our team will gather detailed digital images of your smile from multiple angles, and then combine them to create an impression. With this, we can design and craft an oral appliance, which looks and fits like a simple mouthguard. However, once in place the oral appliance then shifts the jaw to ease tension and strain, and could also place a barrier between the upper and lower teeth to prevent damage from bruxism episodes. You then enjoy relief from painful symptoms! For others, we could also discuss replacing missing teeth with a custom prosthetic, or using a crown or bonding procedure to improve bite balance and ease stress. We could also correct misalignment with orthodontics too!

If you have any questions about how we diagnose and treat issues like TMJ disorder, or if you worry that many of these symptoms apply to you, then please reach out to our team right away. We want to offer stronger and healthier smiles, so you can enjoy a better quality of life.

Talk to Our Team About Treating TMJ Disorder

Our team is ready to tackle your jaw stiffness and headaches with custom treatment options. Give us a call at Allen & Neumann Family Dentistry in Pella, IA at (641)628-1121.