If you wake up each morning with headaches that last throughout the day, your quality of life quickly begins to suffer. Consider speaking with your dentist about the possibility of issues with your jaw being the factor behind your pain. If you have pain in the muscles of your face, jaw joint, or difficulty opening and closing your mouth, these are additional signs of a common oral health condition called TMJ disorder. Also known as TMD, this condition is a problem with the temporomandibular joint that complicates the healthy movement of your jaw. Left untreated, TMD can lead to issues with the alignment of your bite or grinding down of your healthy enamel.
At Sunny Smiles Family Dentistry, we can provide a non-surgical treatment option for TMJ disorder by creating a custom oral guard to wear while you sleep. By speaking with a member of our team, we can evaluate your condition and let you know which method of care can best provide relief.
What Causes TMJ Disorder
While the exact cause for TMD is not clear in many patients, there are a variety of factors associated with the condition. Any situation that puts undue strain on the joint of your jaw can lead toward the disorder. If you lose a tooth, are born with dental misalignment, or experience a serious injury to the face or jaw, stress could become placed on your jaw. An unconscious grinding habit can wear down the surface of your teeth while placing pressure on the joint throughout the night. When you visit our practice, we will examine your oral cavity to help determine a diagnosis for moving forward.
When Your Headaches Will Not Stop
How does TMD present itself? Common symptoms include cracking or popping sensations whenever your move your jaw. You may wake up with severe migraines, headaches, or pain your jaw and face. The pain can even extend to your back and shoulders. You may see chipped teeth if the cause of your TMD is a constant grinding habit. Because the potential causes are multifactorial, you may require multiple treatments to best alleviate your concerns.
Creating Your Oral Appliance
By creating a BPA-free oral guard to wear at night, we can gently reposition the jaw into a more comfortable position while you sleep. Because each bite is unique, we will take careful measurements of your smile before producing your mouth guard. At your consultation we can also discuss other restorative treatments to help realign your bite. Individual teeth can be fixed with dental crowns for example.
TALK TO YOUR DENTIST AT SUNNY SMILES ABOUT TMD
If you have chronic headaches, you may be able to find relief with your dentist. To find out more about how our team treats stress upon your jaw, please contact our Sunny Smiles location on N Zaragoza Rd in El Paso, TX at (915) 849-9000.