TMJ pains can cause your quality of life to take a real hit. You can suffer periodic bouts of real discomfort, with discomfort in your face and jaw that can interfere with your ability to speak, or to bite and chew food. You might also develop chronic headaches. This discomfort might stem from arthritic jaw joints, or in the aftermath of an injury that affects your jaw. Many patients will come in for help with TMJ problems that relate to habitual teeth grinding. Your dentist takes TMJ issues seriously, and can help. After evaluating your particular issue, they can offer the right solution to rid you of this painful problem.

How Your Dentist Can Help Correct Your Jaw Alignment

The first step in eradicating your TMJ problems is evaluating your current condition. The right treatment could involve an oral appliance that corrects your jaw’s position, but it could also include stress management, jaw strengthening exercises, or restorative work on certain teeth.

The Link Between TMJ Troubles And Teeth Grinding

A habit of grinding your teeth can cause dental issues in addition to TMJ pain. The force you generate when you grind them could damage teeth so severely that you need a dental crown for one or more of them. A crown can support a weak tooth – if you have had to change how you chew food because of dental pain, this could solve the issue for you. When you do not stop teeth grinding, and you leave weakened teeth untreated, you can make your TMJ issues worse, and experience more pain.