What causes TMJ disorder?
It is commonly thought that TMJ pain has a ‘multifactorial’ cause. It can be due to
⦁ Tension or overuse of jaw muscles (like during clenching or grinding during sleep or biting nails)
⦁ Wear and tear to the cartilage inside the joint, mainly happens in older people due to arthritis.
⦁ Injury or trauma to the joint itself or elsewhere in the jaw.
⦁ Teeth that don't fit together properly, out of line, or missing teeth, cause occlusion problems, i.e. the way the teeth meet when your jaws bite together.
⦁ If your lower jaw is in the wrong position, the muscles that move the jaw have to work a lot harder and can get tired. This leads to muscle spasm.
What are the signs of TMJ disfunction?
- Pain in the jaw joints and facial muscles.- Clicking noise, grinding or locking of the jaw
- Headache (especially in the morning), dizziness,
- Pain behind your eyes, sinus pain and pain in your neck and shoulders. Sometimes even back muscles are involved.
- Difficulty in opening or closing the mouth comfortably
- Pain on talking, chewing (especially hard food) & yawning
- Ear pain, ringing in the ears (tinnitus) & hearing loss
