703.478.9574TMD / TMJ Symptoms
Reston and Arlington, VA
Many people have migraine headaches as part of their TMJ/TMD cluster of symptoms, and the migraines are severe. To get relief from them, people visit their doctors first, and may have no idea that their problem is a dental one. Perhaps a medication is prescribed which treats the migraines well enough each time one occurs. But they keep recurring.
Eventually, the person connects with a dentist who recognizes the problem. TMD does not have a standard appearance. There is a cluster of symptoms which appear differently in different people. Not everyone will have every symptom.
- Severe headaches – usually in the temples or back of the head
- Pain in the face, ears, and jaw
- Clicking or popping sounds in the jaw movement
- Teeth grinding or clenching, even in sleep
- Locking jaw
- Pain in the teeth
- Chips and undue wear in the teeth
- Pain in the neck and shoulders
- Muffled hearing
- Trouble with swallowing
With some of these symptoms, it isn’t always clear whether they’re the result of pain, or the result of jaw misalignment and are causing pain. Tooth grinding or clenching, for example, could be either one.
After a long enough time, TMD can wear down the jawbones themselves, causing teeth to become loose, to crowd together, or to migrate further apart.
Nerves in the area
There are several large nerves in the face and head area and the trigeminal nerve is the biggest. It gives us feeling in the facial areas but also is responsible for jaw movement and swallowing. It has three main branches: one to the eyes, forehead and upper nose, one to the upper jaw, and one to the lower jaw. If any of these nerve branches become inflamed along with the surrounding tissue, there’ll be pain in that area.
Some nerves have branches running through the neck to the shoulders and down the arms. This can cause pain in the neck or shoulders, and tingling or numbness in the arms and hands.
If the eyes become involved, you can experience blurred vision, eye twitches or extra sensitivity to light. The jaw joints themselves are close to the ears, which puts hearing problems and a feeling of stuffiness among the TMD symptoms.
Types of TMD
It’s thought that there are three types of TMD, and one, two, or all three may be present at the same time:
- Inflammation in the muscles that move the jaw and/or those that move the neck and shoulders
- Injury inside the joint itself, such as a dislocation of the bones, or displacement of the disc between them which is supposed to absorb shock and make the jaw motions smooth
- A degenerative disease in the jaw joint, like osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis
Many people have occasional periods where they experience one or more of these TMD symptoms. It doesn’t necessarily mean that they need any TMD treatment. If your jaw tends to make clicking or popping noises, for example, but has no pain, you probably don’t need any treatment.
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You no longer have to live with the pain of TMJ/TMD. If you live in the Arlington, Vienna, and Alexandria area, there is a solution for you! Contact us today for a Free Smile Evaluation.
