Gentle Solutions for Pain-free Living
If you’re experiencing constant headaches or muscle pain in your jaw or neck area, your pain may be symptomatic of TMD, also known as TMJ disorder. This type of pain isn’t something you have to live with forever; at Alatorre Dental, we can help!
What is TMD?
TMJ disorder (also known as TMD) is the name for any problem or misalignment with your temporomandibular joint. Your temporomandibular joints (TMJ) are the two joints that connect your jawbone to the rest of your skull.
Not sure if this is your problem? You may be experiencing TMJ problems if you notice any one or more of the following common symptoms:
- Painful chewing
- Frequent headaches and/or migraines
- Pain in your neck, face, or shoulders
- A ringing in your ears, also known as tinnitus
- Soreness in your jaw
What Causes TMD?
TMD can come about due to injury to the head, neck, or jaw, or simply from the joints’ strenuous overuse, such as with teeth grinding or clenching (like with bruxism).
Other causes of TMD include stress-induced muscle tightness in the face and jaw, arthritis, or having an uneven bite.
As you can imagine, your temporomandibular joints are used pretty regularly. All day every day, we are talking, eating, yawning, and moving our jaws around in one way or another. Get the necessary help you need with Alatorre Dental’s TMD treatment!
Treatment Options
There are multiple treatment options for TMD. The most popular and effective are:
- Mouthguards: Mouthguards can help keep your jaw in an optimal position while you sleep, preventing grinding or clenching. This helps your muscles recuperate and decreases pain levels.
- Botox Injections: Botox injections into the muscle surrounding your jaw can relax it and relieve stress and pain.
Benefits of TMD Treatment
Many people who don’t know they have TMD become pretty accustomed to dealing with the symptoms day in and day out. But finally getting treatment for TMD can give you a better quality of life. Here are some benefits that we tell our patients who are investing:
- Lower Pain: Find freedom from aches and migraines with TMD treatment that attacks the sources head-on! Our office is skilled to help you find relief as soon as we can.
- Greater Jaw Flexibility: Regain full mobility of your jaw with the benefits of TMD treatment with Dr. Alatorre! A healthy mouth equals healthy digestion and way of life!
- Improved Ability to Concentrate: The pain of TMD can make it harder to get things done as effectively. Find greater relief and personal peace with TMD treatment!
Managing TMD Pain
First off, it is best to schedule an appointment for TMD pain as soon as you feel the pain feels longstanding. We would recommend about a week or two. In-office dental work can help you manage your symptoms and prevent any further damage from happening.
In the meantime before an appointment, here are some quick tips to do while you wait:
- Apply Temperature Packs: Apply temperature packs based on how you are feeling. Apply a cold pack for stinging pains and a hot pack for dull pains.
- Change Your Eating Habits: TMD may require you to take a break from hard foods, such as hard meat or apples, for a short time. Try eating soft food like oatmeal or bananas instead.
- Focus On Posture: Many patients find relief from just sitting up straighter or not propping their phone on their jaw with their shoulder when they talk to someone.
How to Prevent TMD From Happening
We want to make sure our patients don’t have to deal with the pain and discomfort that comes with TMD. Here are some steps we recommend to reduce the risk of this disorder:
- Manage Stress: Meditation and mindfulness are amazing ways to reduce stress.
- Small Bites of Food: Reduce chewing strain by making the size of your food as small as possible.
- Using Sport Mouth Guards: Protect yourself from hard falls with mouth guards!
- Avoid Tooth Grinding: Try to keep your teeth apart unless you are speaking or eating.
- Sleep with a Mouth Guard: This can help reduce unconscious grinding due to bruxism.
- Don’t Sleep on Your Stomach: This behavior can put a lot of undue stress on your jaw.
Gain Relief From TMJ Disorder With Alatorre Dental
Alatorre Dental is eager to help you rebound from the effects of TMD. If you’re experiencing abnormal pain in your jaw or neck, TMD may be the culprit. Give our Las Vegas office a visit or call us to schedule your consultation!