TMJ, jaw joint pain relief, headache pain, neck pain, tmj disorder, tmj dysfunction, pain relief, neck and pain relief

In his book, “TMJ The Jaw Connection-The Overlooked Diagnosis”, by Dr. Greg Goddard, D.D.S, he states in twenty-two years of practice he has seen a tremendous progress in the understanding of the TMJ disorders. In the past, the majority of problems were thought to be caused by bad bites, but today there’s much greater understanding of the role of muscles, joints, stress, tension, and accidents on the TMJ.

Another tremendous change has been the demise of the idea that the doctor does everything for the patients and the patient obeys the doctor. Patients today want a say in their care says Dr.Goddard. In everything from breast cancer treatments to treatments of the TMJ, patients want to be educated, they want to understand their problems, and they want to know the alternative treatments and have a say in what there is all about.

All the progress in scientific understanding about treating TMJ disorders has been written up in journals and textbooks for doctors, chiropractic physicians, and dentists. This information now needs to be delivered to the patients. Whenever the doctor can break down the scientific, technical language and translate it into a simple form that the patients can understand, they have been able to grasp that knowledge and use it to help in the treatment and management of their TMJ problems.

Patient education is necessary for the TMJ disorders. What leads to understanding is a concise, simple presentation of the facts in a way that patients can understand, and that is what I attempt to do.

Today, researchers generally agrees that there are 3 types of TMJ Joint Dysfunctions. The three categories are:
    1. Disorders of the Muscles - Myofascial pain, the most common form of TMJD, is discomfort or pain in the muscles that control jaw function, as well as possible discomfort in the neck and shoulder muscles.
    2. Disorders of the Disc - Internal derangement of the joint, possible from a dislocated or misaligned jaws; as a result, the small disc inside the joint is unjured.
   3. Disorders of the Joint Structures - Degenerative joint disease, such as osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis in the TMJ might be the problem.

A person could have one or more of these conditions at the same time---but 95 percent of the time the TMJ pain is caused by Disorders of the muscles, and the pain can be controlled or the TMJ problem can be corrected.

The jaw muscle is one of the strongest muscles in the body, and the effects of its malfunction can be surprising. The misalignment of the Temporo Mandibular Joint (TMJ) can be the result of injury, malocclusion, improper orthodontics, stress. Many of us are unaware of how tension and stress can move through the body’s muscle systems and concentrate in critical spots which in turn, result in symptoms of distress, imbalance, or facial pain and cause TMJ pain.

Perhaps your posture at work creates stress in the back muscles, which builds up over time, until it is drawn up between your shoulder and your neck area. When you are mentally engaged, your breathing compresses, causing your neck and shoulders to become tight and tense. Eventually this tightness is deposited throughout your scalp which, in turn stores in the masseter (jaw musles) and puts pressure on the TMJ joint and the TMJ disc causing extreme stress in face, jaw, neck and will cause headache pain. This will cause the jaws to clamp in an attempt to deal with the body’s stress.

WHAT CAUSES TMJD?

Stress and anxiety, which can cause facial and jaw muscle tension.

Repetitive habits, such as grinding your teeth(brusxism), clenching your teeth, excessive gum chewing, eating hard or chewy foods, and nail biting.

Habits that can cause muscle tension, such as sleeping on one side of your face or with your mouth open, opening your mouth yawning or singing, or holding your head up by cradling your jaw in your hand, or excessive talking on the phone and holding the phone on your jaw area.

Injury to the jaw or head. TMJ disorders can result from a direct blow to the jaw, chin, or head; whiplash auto injury to the head or neck; overstreching the jaw during during dental work or surgery; or other injuries that may lead to joint damage or muscle tension. As many as 40% of whiplash victims can develop TMJD.

Orthodontic treatment, such as braces and the use of headgear, as well as prolonged opening of the jaw for dental work, can lead to TMJD.

A "bad bite", when your upper and lower teeth do not come together in a way that provides proper bracing support for your jaw against your skull. This might result from a missing tooth, teeth that are not aligned properly, or back teeth that are too short.

Muscle spasm. Your upper and lower teeth must come together firmly for you to swallow. This action occurs over 2000 times a day. When your bit is unstable, your muscles must work harder making them shortened and stiff. Now, a cycle begins of increased tissue damage, muscle tenderness and pain.
If you’ve tried everything and you still suffer from chronic headaches, neck aches, earaches, shoulder and back pain, and the cause of these symptoms has not been found, there may be a good solution to your problems.

In our office, the patient will many times see immediate TMJ pain relief. Our examinations are planned to eliminate cases we cannot hlep, and if we cannot help you -- we will tell you.

There is hope for many TMJ sufferers. With the use of the TMJ Appliance splint, along with having the TMJ disc and joint dysfunction corrected along with taking the natural muscle relaxant Serenitol, almost 90% of these patients respond to treatment. The patient loves the results, the way they feel and the way they look.

Good News --- Dr. Donald G. Kimble has been treating TMJ and headache pain since 1959 with excellent results.

Call Dr. Donald G. Kimble, 803-327-6155, for your free TMJ and Headache Dysfunction Screening today.