FOR JUNE 18, 2023
DR. RHODA ENTERO
MEDICAL INSIDER

ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT TMJ DISORDERS

(Part 2)

In our first discussion of the TMJ DISORDERS last week, we
presented the following: What is meant by TMJ Syndromes and
How Commen are these and What are the Causes of TMJ
Syndromes?;
Today we will discuss the Causes, Symptoms, and Risk
Factors of the TMJ Disorders.
The TMJ combines the hinge action of your jaw muscles with
sliding motions, allowing you to grind your food to something
more digestible. It makes it easier to cut, chew, and masticate
what you’re eating. The parts of the bones interacting with the
temporomandibular joint are covered with cartilage and separated
by a small disk responsible for shock absorption and keeps the
movement of your jaw as smooth as possible.
However, you can end up with a rather painful TMJ disorder.
When? When the following happen:the disk has eroded; Arthritis
has damaged your joint’s cartilage; the disk has moved out of its
correct alignment; and the joint has been ruined by blunt-force
trauma from a blow, car accident, or some other impact.
The cause of TMJ disorder usually isn’t clear in many of the cases
involving it. As for TMJ disorder’s signs and symptoms, you
should be aware that there’s an almost infinite number of
symptoms connected to TMJ syndrome.

What’s more, many of these symptoms mimic those found in
other diseases or illnesses and this makes makes diagnosing
TMJ syndrome a lot more difficult than normal and can also lead
to misdiagnoses from your doctor.
You should therefore go to a medical or dental professional in
order to get the proper diagnosis and treatment for TMJ disorder.
At any rate, the condition includes the following symptoms:
Tightness or pain in the eye; Pain in one of the
temporomandibular joints, or both of them; Limited or restricted
movement of the jaw and mouth; Your jaw is painful or tender on
one or both sides of the face; Your mouth might also suffer from
aches and pain that includes toothaches; You might suffer from
headaches, which often include cluster headaches and migraines;
You have issues with chewing because it’s painful to chew or you
may not be able to chew at all; There is pain within or around your
ear. You might also hear ringing right in your ears; Facial pain or
ache on either one or both sides of the face. Your face might also
feel tighter than normal; TMJ disorders can also cause a grating
sensation or clicking sound when you chew or open your mouth. It
can also come in the form of a popping sound; The joint has
stiffened, giving you lockjaw and making it difficult to open or
close your mouth. Lockjaw is when you’re unable to move your
jaw slightly or at all, thus keeping you from talking or eating. (To
be continued)