When you have persistent pain in your head and jaw, this could impact your quality of life and be a sign of disorders like TMD, also known as TMJ disorder, and bruxism. Our team can offer a diagnosis with precision, and treatment with a custom oral appliance. In today’s blog, your Prairie Village, KS, dentist talks about treating TMJ disorder and bruxism.
A Look at TMJ Disorder
TMJ disorder means that the jaw joints that connect your head and jaw have been severely stressed. The strain could be brought on by issues like missing teeth, dental misalignment, injury to the face or jaw, untreated teeth grinding, or issues with the growth and development of your smile, including wisdom tooth eruption. The strain could lead to painful symptoms, such as headaches, jaw and facial pain, earaches, neck and shoulder aches, and a popping or clicking sensation in your jaw. The disorder could even impact how you open and close your mouth!
The Facts About Bruxism
Bruxism, or chronic teeth grinding, is often related to TMD, as one can lead to the other. With this disorder, you grind and clench your teeth on a regular basis as you sleep, which can impact how your significant other sleeps and damage your smile. The pressure could wear down teeth and even crack or chip them, changing your smile’s appearance and leading to a higher risk of tooth decay and dental infection. Many of the same factors that cause TMJ disorder could cause bruxism, along with high stress levels in your daily life.
Treatment with an Oral Appliance
Our team can often take detailed images and measurements of your jaw with advanced digital imaging, using them to create an accurate 3D impression. With this, we can design and fabricate a custom-fitted appliance that is worn like a mouthguard as you rest. The device then repositions the jaw to ease underlying stress and strain, and also provide a barrier to prevent damage from teeth grinding episodes. The appliance will be easy to use and clean, and can be stored and travel with you easily too. Our team could also discuss orthodontics, prosthetics, and restorations to ease the strain on your bite.
If you have any questions about how we diagnose and treat issues like bruxism and TMJ disorder to stop headaches and jaw pain, then contact our team today to learn more. We want to help you smile with confidence once again!
DO YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT JAW JOINT STRAIN
We want to help you enjoy a healthy smile and one free of discomfort. To find out more about treatment with a custom oral appliance, you can call Dr. Browne in Prairie Village, KS, at 913-901-8585.
