Overview of Some of the Best TMJ Treatments
You do not think about your TMJ (temporomandibular joints) much, but use them a lot of times. The joints connect the jawbone to your skull and your TMJ works each time you swallow, chew and talk. Disorders occur when something goes wrong with your jaw muscles and jaw joints. TMJ cause debilitating to mild symptoms like.
• Headaches
• Pain in the neck, jaw, face, and ear
• Popping, grating or clicking sounds in the jaw when you close or opens your mouth
• Pain while chewing
• Locking of the jaw joint
Let us now discuss some of the common causes of TMJ pain
• Stress
• Improper biting
• Bruxism or excessive teeth grinding
• Excessive gum chewing
• Trauma to the jaw or mouth
• Arthritis
For instance, people with sleep apnea and fibromyalgia experience a higher incidence of TMJ pain. American Dental Association prescribes that it is best to start with simple TMJ Mclean pain treatment approaches and advance to complex treatments.
Home Treatment
For minor flare-ups, put ice on your jaw if the injury is more recent and acute (from excessive grinding and trauma). You can apply a moist, warm compress for releasing your muscles. From any counter, you can buy non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications to get relief. During a flare-up, give jaw enough rest by avoiding any arduous chewing. Cut your food into small pieces. You can try some soft foods like beans and grains, fish, cottage cheese, yogurt, scrambled eggs, cooked vegetables and fruits, and soup.
Massage
If you are exercising and stretching the joint, massaging becomes a natural fit. Most of them get relief from simple day end massages either done by a partner or solo. TMJ Association provides a recommendation that opens your mouth and starts rubbing the muscles by ears near your TMJ several times a day. On the sore areas, place the forefingers and swirl them around by pressing in gentle motion until your muscle relaxes. Repeat the technique by closing your mouth. Put your clean forefinger in your mouth until you can feel the sore muscles inside. Now press firmly and massage all the sides reaching as close to the joints you can. The final step is to massage the muscles on the side of your neck. These muscles do not directly control the jaw but if you massage them it helps in reducing the tension that contributes to jaw pain.
Stress Management Procedures
One of the crucial parts of TMJ McLean pain treatment is to reduce your stress. People hold a lot of tension in their jaws and with continued stress leads to high damage rates. There are techniques that one can practice regularly. For controlling your stress, try incorporating any of them into your routine.
• Acupuncture
• Tai chi
• Meditation
• Essential oils for relaxation and focus
• Yoga
• Biofeedback
Managing stress need not have to be a complex process. You can simply sit and focus on your breath for ten deep and full breaths multiple times a day that will help in relieving tension around the jaw.
TMJ dental devices and mouth guards
For many TMJ sufferers, the go-to treatment is with dental devices like splints and mouth guards which is a custom-fitted guard that needs to worn over the teeth. This type of procedure works best in moderate cases but for a shorter duration. Stabilization splints are widely used for TMJ disorders but studies show that their effects have been inconclusive. If you are using, use it for a short duration only and should not cause any permanent changes in y our bite. If a splint affects your bite or increases or causes pain, stop using and consult your healthcare provider. A well-balanced bite allows pitting less pressure on the jaw and helps to stop grinding your teeth during the night. Due to this reason, dentists recommend splints or short-term guards, braces for correcting alignment and Invisalign braces for adults.
Injections
Nowadays many are opting for injections to manage moderate to severe TMJ pain. Botox injections are used for treating migraine pain and provide relief to underlying muscle spasms that cause TMJ pain. Some TMJ McLean specialists use corticosteroid injections into the joint for reducing inflammation.