You can determine whether you have TMJ if you have any of the following symptoms. Clicking or popping of the jaw joint, headaches, an uncomfortable bite, ringing sound in the ears, neck or shoulder pains, locking of the jaw when opening or closing and swelling of the side of the face.

TMJ is very treatable if diagnosed early. At Progressive Dental, we treat TMD syndrome with orthotic therapy or Neuromuscular dentistry. Orthotic therapy requires you to wear an unobtrusive oral splint day and night, this is placed into your mouth to help you try and achieve your perfect bite. There is no set timescale that you should wear the splint for as everybody is different, although you should be wearing it for 24 hours a day 7 days a week.

After your orthotic splint has done its job, you will then wear braces to continue the rehabilitation of your mouth. This will correct your bite further and continue to help towards the optimum bite you have been working towards. After braces you may feel that you need some more treatment but you can discuss this with your dentist when the time comes around.

Do not disregard TMD any longer as just simple headaches or neck pains, visit your dentist to see if any treatment can be taken to relieve this pain.

The problem could actually be Temporomandibular Joint Disorder also known as TMJ or TMD. The causes of Temporomandibular Joint Disorder are because of an incorrect bite or malfunction with your jaw. This means that your upper and lower teeth are not aligned properly therefore causing trauma to the jaw muscles.

This means that the jaw muscles cannot be properly supported while chewing or swallowing therefore causing severe amounts of pain because of the way that the muscles change to accommodate your malocclusion, causing a range of debilitating problems.

Some symptoms of Temporomandibular Joint Disorder are Tension headaches and Migraines, Neck and back pain, jaw clicking, grinding of the teeth, swelling of the jaw joint and general mouth area, ringing of the ears or even temporary loss of hearing.

The treatment for Temporomandibular Joint Disorder is a process of an orthotic splint placed into your mouth to help realign it to the position that it should be in. Everybody reacts differently to the orthotic splint and for some pain relief and correction of the problem can happen sooner rather than later. After the treatment has been completed you are usually advised to wear braces to continue to keep your teeth and bite in the correct place.