TMJ
stands for Temporomandibular Joint Disorder and this
causes pain and impairment of the jaw movement. It is
located where the lower jaw meets the skull. On account
of its proximity to the ears, set of teeth, the muscles,
nerves, ligaments and bones that are involved with the
issue, each one of them should be separately tackled to
reach a conclusive analysis of the cause and effect of
the actual disorder.
What
Causes The TMJ Disorder?
Incidentally,
researchers are still not very sure whether tinnitus
causes TMJ or vice versa. As a matter of fact, the
nerves that serve the middle ear bones are also
connected to the temporomandibular joint and hence their
relationship with each other cannot be overlooked. To be
more precise, a ligament (known as Pinto’s Ligament)
adjoining the TMJ with the smaller bones within the mid
ear causing Otomandibular Syndrome has come under the
research of Dr. Harold Arlan, MD, Otolaryngology
Surgery’s Assistant Clinical Professor at the Medicine
College and Dentistry of New Jersey and Rudkers Medical
School.
However,
the TMJ syndrome can also be caused due to chronic or
severe inflammation of the temporomandibular joint. Some
individuals when under stress are in the habit of
grinding/ clenching of their teeth and this is medically
termed as bruxism. In these cases, the canines and
incisors of the opposing arches are set against each
other crossways with a side-to-side action by the medial
pterygoid muscles that remain in the middle of the
temporomandibular joints bilaterally, giving rise to
TMJ.
It may
therefore be prudent to examine several health-care
issues that include neuro-muscular aberration,
dentistry, traumatic deformation, neurology, psychology
as well as congenital malformation of the jaw bone since
the TMJ treatment approach would depend greatly on these
factors. Even though pain in the ears linked with the
swelling of the proximal tissue can be a symptom of
temporomandibular joint disorder, pain arising from the
impacted 3rd molar is sometimes mistakenly associated
with TMJ.
TMJ
Symptoms
The
symptoms associated with TMJ include biting and/or
chewing difficulty, clicking, grating or popping noise
during opening or closing of the mouth, tenderness in
the jaw, ear ache, headache and trismus that often
causes lock jaw or other forms of jaw movement problems.
In milder forms, there is a clicking or popping sound.
The common causes include using too much of chewing gum,
nail biting habit and constant clenching. However, for
many people, the symptoms occur only occasionally while
they do not last long. But for those that have developed
TMJ due to trauma or other related incidents, surgery
may become essential for correcting the
fault.
Studies
have revealed that Para functional
habits as well as dis-alignment of the jaw that gives
rise to unusually forceful jaw opening and lateral or
sideway sliding of the jaw as also protrusive (forward)
movement of the jaw are mostly related to the following
circumstances.
- Dis-alignment
of the occlusal surface of the teeth which again is
caused by congenital dental
defect.
- Trauma,
recently or earlier
experienced.
- Constant
bruxing (cataleptic jaw movement)
- Excessive
desire for biting bony food
items.
- Degenerative
joint disease affecting the jaw
joint.
- Organic
degeneration of the articular
surface.
- Persistent
fibrous or bony ankylosis
- Myofascial
pain dysfunction syndrome.
TMJ
Treatment
Treatment
option for Temporomandibular Joint Disorder includes
short term and long term approaches, both of which are
effective. As for pain relief, one can go for
conventional NSAIDs that provide short term relief but
prove mostly ineffective as the pain is more neuralgic
in nature against which the paracetamol group of drugs
have very little or no effect at all.
The long
term treatment option for TMJ involves physical therapy
to the masticating muscles while attempting to alleviate
postures of the head and neck that are considered
harmful for the Temporomandibular Joint. Sometimes a
flat-plane full-coverage oral appliance in the form of a
non-repositioning Stabilizing Splint is used to relieve
the stress on the TMJ. But since this may not suit all,
an Anterior or Frontal Splint is used that has contact
only with the front teeth and thus is found suitable to
all. Nevertheless, this type of “Splint Therapy” is
recommended only when it is
reversible.
TMJ
Symptoms and Treatment
The fact
is, both conventional treatments (drugs and surgery) and
over the counter medications (mouthguards and splints)
cannot treat TMJ. At best, they can bring the symptoms
down and as soon as their effect wanes, the problem
resurfaces. What happens is that, the real problem
remains deep within as till the time they cannot be
identified and eradicated, the TMJ will keep coming
back. Herbal supplements and home remedies can offer
some relief, but they also fail to provide a lasting
solution.
The only
way to get rid of TMJ once and for all is to opt for
holistic remedies that treat the body as a whole and
identify all the contributing factors. Once these
factors are identified and eradicated, the chronic
nature of TMJ goes. And it never comes back to bother
the person again.
