What Are Excellent Treatments for TMJ?

A single treatment excellent for treating TMJ disorders is yet undiscovered, but many treatments exist to treat the condition with ease with physicians and dentists. If you seek TMJ treatment near me because you dislike driving across town, the dentist in your vicinity may recommend over-the-counter pain relievers, anti-inflammatories, or muscle relaxants to manage your condition. If your TMJ disorder is severe, dentists prescribe prescription-strength medicines in rare cases.

What Are TMJ Disorders?

Your TMJ (Temporomandibular Joint) functions like a sliding hinge connecting your jawbone with your skull. One temporomandibular joint exists on both sides of your jaw. TMJ disorders can occur if you frequently grind and clench your teeth when sleeping, although the habit is not responsible for TMJ disorders.

In many cases, the discomfort associated with TMJ disorders is temporary and disappears by itself or by self-managed care with nonsurgical treatments. Surgery is always a last resort after other conservative methods have failed, although some people with this condition benefit from surgical treatments.

What Are the Risk Factors of Developing TMJ Disorders?

Various types of arthritis like osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, or jaw injuries can make you vulnerable to developing TMJ disorders. If you are chronically clenching and grinding your teeth, you may be a victim of the disorder. Some connective tissue diseases also affect your temporomandibular joint causing discomfort in your jaw.

How to Diagnose Your TMJ Disorder?

You can visit the dentist’s office in Ontario to have your TMJ disorder diagnosed. The dentist will listen to and feel your jaw asking you to open and close your mouth. They will press on areas around your jaw to detect sites of pain and discomfort. They also observe the range of motion in your jaw.

If the dentist suspects an issue, they may order x-rays, CT scans, and MRI scans to examine your teeth and jaw, to view detailed images of the bones involved in the joint, and detect problems with the joint’s desk or surrounding soft tissue.

Sometimes TMJ arthroscopy is helpful in the diagnosis of TMJ disorders. A thin cannula is inserted by the dentist into the joint space with a tiny camera to view the area and diagnose the condition.

Treatment for TMJ Disorders

As mentioned earlier, TMJ disorders can disappear by themselves without needing treatment from dentists or doctors. However, if your symptoms persist, the Ontario dentist recommends various treatment options combined simultaneously.

• Pain relievers and anti-inflammatories help relieve TMJ pain in most cases. However, if they aren’t sufficient for your case, dentists prescribe more potent pain delivers for a limited period if required.
• Tricyclic antidepressants generally used for depression are sometimes helpful in relieving pain, and sleeplessness, and controlling bruxism.
• The Ontario dentist recommends muscle relaxants for a few days or weeks to help relieve the pain from TMJ disorders created by muscle spasms.

Nondrug treatments for TMJ disorders are also available and routinely recommended by dentists.

You may benefit from wearing a soft or firm device over your teeth, although the reasons why you benefit from the device aren’t understood.

Physical therapy is also beneficial when dealing with TMJ disorders. Dentists recommend exercises to stretch and strengthen your jaw muscles besides treatments including ultrasound, moist heat, and ice.

Education and counseling help to understand the factors and behaviors aggravating your pain to ensure you avoid them. Some examples of the factors include leaning on your chin, biting your fingernails, or clenching and grinding your teeth.

Lifestyle and Home Remedies

You can manage chronic pain associated with TMJ disorders using complementary and alternative medicine techniques. They are:

• Biofeedback with electronic devices monitoring the tightness of specific muscles helps to practice effective relaxation techniques.
• Relaxation techniques to consciously slow your breathing by taking deep breaths help relax tense muscles and reduce jaw pain.
• Specialists trained in acupuncture treat chronic pain by inserting hair-thin needles at unique locations in your body.

If all methods to treat TMJ disorders conservatively fail, the dentist may suggest surgical procedures like TMJ arthroscopy, injections, arthrocentesis, open joint surgery, et cetera for relief.

TMJ disorders are irritating and cause pain and discomfort in your jaw. However, various treatments are available for the condition, comfortably treated with nonsurgical therapies if it doesn’t disappear. The Ontario dentist can advise how best you can manage TMJ disorders using self-care and home remedies before recommending other measures.