Effective TMJ Treatment Strategies: Relief for Jaw, Head, Neck, and Ear Pain

Many patients suffer from jaw pain, headaches, and other symptoms associated with TMJ (temporomandibular joint disorder). Common TMD symptoms include difficulty opening the mouth, a clicking or popping sound when chewing or talking, and tenderness around the face, neck, or ear.

TMJ problems are caused by an imbalance in the delicate system of muscles, nerves, and teeth that support the bite and mouth. Treatments focus on restoring the proper position of the temporomandibular joint and treating the overworked muscles.

Relieve TMJ Symptoms

TMJ symptoms are a sign that you have an imbalanced bite and strained jaw muscles. Symptoms might include a clicking, popping, or painful jaw when you open or close your mouth to eat and talk.

You may also have headaches, neck pain, earaches, a limited range of motion in the jaw, or jaw lockups. Symptoms might come and go, or they could recur regularly.

Several types of TMJ treatment Houston TX can relieve your symptoms and alleviate discomfort. For example, a PRS (pain release splint) helps cushion the TMJ and prevent excessive force from transmitting to the ligaments, joints, and muscles.

Similarly, a neuromuscular oral orthotic helps to artificially perfect the bite and reduce the physical stress placed on the tissues of the jaw.

Other TMJ treatment options include physical therapy, ice packs, muscle relaxants and anti-inflammatories.

A night guard can help reduce bruxism (teeth grinding), which can cause TMJ and exacerbate your symptoms. Permanent TMJ relief can only be achieved by addressing the root of your bite misalignment.

Relieve Headaches

TMJ disorder is a common cause of headaches. The temporomandibular joints are located on either side of the head, connecting the jawbone to the skull.

When the joint is irritated or inflamed, it can impact the muscles and ligaments that surround it. This can lead to tension in the face and neck muscles, which causes a headache.

Tightened face and neck muscles can also be caused by clenching or grinding your teeth at night, known as bruxism.

This habit can wear down your teeth and erode the structure of your jawbone, which contributes to headaches.

TMJ specialists are uniquely equipped to identify and treat the physiological functions that can contribute to migraines and headaches, including a misalignment of the jaw and teeth, snoring and sleep apnea, clenching and grinding, and a poor bite (malocclusion).

They can use K7 and TENS technology and electromyography to measure muscle function and correlate it to proper jaw posture. They can then develop comprehensive treatment plans that relieve a wide range of symptoms, including persistent headaches.

Relieve Neck Pain

The temporomandibular joints (TMJ) sit on either side of the head, connecting the jaw to the skull and allow you to talk, chew, laugh, yawn and open your mouth wide. TMJ problems can cause pain in the jaw, ear and neck.

TMJ is usually caused by jaw injury or overstressing of the muscles and jaw joints. This can be due to traumatic injuries such as getting hit in the head or falling on your face, dental procedures that involve opening the mouth widely for long periods of time or surgeries that require the stretching of the jaw for breathing tubes or inserted instruments.

Diseases that affect the jaw joint such as rheumatoid arthritis can also cause symptoms. Abnormal habits such as teeth clenching, gum chewing and biting nails, yawning with the mouth open and sleep bruxism can also cause TMJ pain.

Correcting your bite, or occlusion, can help you get rid of TMJ symptoms like jaw pain, ringing in the ears, problems chewing and headaches. In some cases orthognathic surgery is required to realign the upper and lower jaws, or change the shape of your teeth.

Relieve Ear Pain

TMJ problems affect many muscles and tissues in the jaw, head, neck, and shoulders. And when one area of the body becomes misaligned, other areas must compensate in order to function normally.

Eventually, this can cause additional problems. For example, when the TMJ is injured or afflicted with conditions like osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis, inflammation can spread from the affected joint to surrounding muscles and tissues. This includes the ear.

This can lead to ear pain and tenderness that radiates to other areas. Symptoms of TMJ disorder and TMD may be varied, and each patient will experience them differently.

However, a TMJ treatment Houston TX can diagnose and devise an immediate plan to treat the underlying cause of your symptoms.

This typically involves realigning the relationship of the upper and lower teeth, which can be achieved by using dental restorations or by building custom bite orthotics to reposition the teeth. This can relieve TMJ pain and also alleviate ear problems that are related to TMD.