more info

 

Please note

We no longer carry out treatment for TMJ and headaches, we refer to specialists.

These pages have had a high hit count so I am leaving them as historical pages for information only.  They are not updated.

 

Chronic recurrent headaches as well as facial and neck pain are a common occurrence in millions of people.  In addition, people frequently suffer from ear symptoms including pain, ringing, buzzing, loss of hearing or clicking or locking of the jaw which can make chewing, speaking or moving the jaw painful or difficult.

Until recently these symptoms, appearing unrelated, were frequently undiagnosed or misdiagnosed as migraine, tension headache, neuritis, neuralgia, or stress. When standard treatment remedies for these types of disorders proved unsuccessful, patients were frequently labeled as hypochondriacs, "it's all in your head", or neurotic.

Today, it is well recognized by certain practitioners within the Health Care Community that these often unexplained, undiagnosed and therefore untreated symptoms are related to a group of problems called, Temporomandibular Disorders (TMD).

Today, practitioners with proper training and diagnostic skills, are able to pin point the cause of these symptoms and provide, often times seemingly miraculous, relief of symptoms which may have been present for years.

 

What exactly is TMD?

TMD or Temporomandibular Disorders are a group of maladies which can effect the temporomandibular joints (TMJ), as well as the associated muscles of the jaw, face and neck as well as related neurological and vascular structures.

Problems within this complex can produce a myriad of symptoms which, at first glance, might appear to be totally unrelated to the jaw complex. These symptoms can include headaches (over the eye, in the temples, behind the eyes, and at the base of the skull), generalized facial pain as well as more specific pain directly in front of the ears, ear symptoms including ringing, buzzing, congestion, as well as pain. In addition neck and shoulder pain as well as clicking or grating noises of the jaw joint with movement, locking of the jaw or pain in the jaw with function are frequently encountered. Sufferers may not possess all of these symptoms however, it is most certainly possible that they may.

Some estimates would suggest that as high as 20% of the population possess one or more of the symptoms of a TMD  . Although all of these individuals may not have conditions severe enough to warrant treatment, many sufferers have developed such debilitating pain so as to degrade the quality of their life making family, social and business interrelationships difficult if not impossible.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Causes of TMD

There are many, many causes of TMD, here is an example.  A tooth is extracted  and the opposing tooth over-erupts because it has nothing to bite against, this results in traumatic interfering contact with another tooth when chewing.  Potential responses are: (After Dawson 1989)

  • The tooth may become sensitive to hot and cold or it may ache 

  • The tooth may become tender to touch

  • The tooth may become loose

  • The tooth may become worn

  • The mandible (jaw) may deviate around the interference causing other teeth to become worn down

  • The deviated jaw function may cause other teeth to be loosened

  • The deviated jaw function may cause the masticatory muscles to become hyperactive or to be in "spasm"

  • This may result in difficulty opening the mouth

  • Muscle tension headaches may result

  • The combination of sore teeth, sore muscles and headaches may cause depression and stress

  • Tension and stress may lead to depression

  • The combination of deviating mandible and spastic musculature may cause a derangement of the TMJ

  • The combination of TMJ derangement and muscle spasm may initiate arthritic changes in the TMJ

  • All of the above

  • None of the above

 

How do you know if you have a TMD?

If you answer "yes" to a number of the following you are a candidate for suffering a TMD.

  • Do you have frequent headaches?

  • Does your neck, back of your head or shoulders hurt frequently?

  • Do you hear popping, clicking or cracking sounds when you chew?

  • Do you hear a grating sound in your jaw joint?

  • Do you have stuffiness, pressure or blockage in your ears?

  • Do you have crooked, missing, "bucked" or crowded teeth?

  • Do you have an overbite?

  • Do you hear a ringing or buzzing sound in either or both of your ears?

  • Do you experience dizziness (vertigo) frequently?

  • Do your jaws feel tight or difficult to open?

  • Do your jaws ache after eating?

  • Do your teeth ache?

  • Do you wake up in the morning with sore facial muscles?

  • Do you clench or grind your teeth while you are asleep, frustrated or under stress?

  • Do you suffer from depression or decreased energy level as a result of any of the above symptoms?

  • Are your teeth sensitive, loose broken or worn?

  • Have you been hit in the jaw or had a whiplash injury?

  • Is it hard to use your front teeth to bite or tear food?

  • Have you been told that you might have TMD?