Treatment Of TMJ - Effective Methods You Could Try

Temporomandibular joint syndrome is a condition wherein the joint that connects our mandibles to our skulls, is swollen or inflamed. When one experiences this dysfunction, pain will be experienced in the jaw plus difficulty will be had in opening and closing the mouth. The face may also become swollen and the jaw may be tender or stiff as another result of this condition.



There are a variety of causes for the syndrome, namely they are: 1) the damaging of the joint as a result of clenching or grinding; 2) the abnormality in the joint's shape; 3) the dislocation of the joint and 4) the effect of rheumatoid arthritis to the joint.



There are quite a few telltale signs of this dysfunction. If you are experiencing pain in the jaw and in your ears, then that may be a sign that you have the syndrome. Another symptom is a headache experienced with a stiff and swollen jaw. Teeth problems may render you vulnerable to this syndrome. People whose top and bottom teeth do not line up, grinds and clenches them or has an overbite are usually the sufferers of this dysfunction. People who had braces in the past are more likely to suffer from this disorder too.



There are a number of ways to deal with this dysfunction. Surgery is one example of treatment of TMJ. Surgery though, should only be conducted for serious cases only. Surgery is done when the pain caused by the dysfunction becomes unbearable and the damage is irreparable through medicine. When surgery is unnecessary, doctors use non-invasive methods in treating this condition.



A good and noninvasive treatment of TMJ is the use of a biofeedback headband during the night. What a biofeedback headband does is measures and reduces one's subconscious grinding and clenching of his or her teeth, termed as bruxism. The headaches that accompany this condition will also be lessened by the biofeedback headband. Wearing the headband during your sleep will also reduce the damage suffered by your temporomandibular joint.



Aside from surgery and biofeedback headband use, you can also take medicine as treatment of TMJ. Anti-inflammatory drugs and muscle relaxants will help one to get rid of the swollen jaw. Some patients have used pain killers but they were ineffective for some cases. Stress worsens your condition, so some doctors prescribe antidepressant drugs.