TMJ Treatments
TMJ treatment and diagnosis is still in its infancy. This is due to the fact that it has only recently become recognized as a real disorder in the medical profession. TMJ syndrome affects the part of the jaw joint that attaches to the skull. Now this doesn’t mean that TMJ is a new disorder, it just means that it hasn’t been a popular or heavily studied field until recently. For many years people have suffered from TMJ pain and had no idea what was causing it.
Now, finally, it isn’t just your ears that get checked when you go in for frequent ear infections. Headaches aren’t just another one of those mysteries that more pain killers can solve, there is at last another option. And pain in the teeth and jaws aren’t attributed to poor dental hygiene. It took quite some time for doctors to recognize this disorder for what it was, although most insurance companies have still been (predictably) slow in coming around.
While the symptoms of TMJ are many and varied, the treatments are not. There are some simple ways you can treat your TMJ and manage the pain. Be warned: there is no permanent cure for TMJ. It is a disorder we must learn to live with.
Here’s a few TMJ treatments you might pursue:
• Pain relieving medication. Over the counter pain relievers can be used to reduce the pain in cases where it is not extreme. Ibuprofen and Advil are good medications that take down the swelling in the joint region and reduce the pain.
• Readjusting your jaw joint. Quite often, when the pain gets intense, it means you need to get your jaw readjusted. A chiropractor or better yet a TMJ dentist could take care of this for you. Be careful that your doctor or chiropractor knows what they are doing, as readjusting your jaw wrong can easily end up causing more damage than good.
• Braces have been known to help pull your jawbone into its proper place and keep it there. Some have reported this has helped. Night gaurds and bite plates can work too to help reduce the teeth grinding at night.
•Surgery is a last resort. It can help alleviate the pain, but more often then not TMJ surgery can cause more problems down the line, sometimes worse than the original pain. Don’t get TMJ surgery until you have no other choice.
• It is much better to manage your TMJ. Just like with diabetes treatment, it involves a lifestyle adjustment and a diet adjustment. In fact, if you are careful what you eat and how you use your muscles, this can be the only TMJ cure you will ever need!
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