TMJ Dysfunction

TMJD, or temporomandibular dysfunction is commonly misunderstood and misdiagnosed. As a result, countless patients are mistreated for their symptoms. TMJD is a term used when your TMJ is experiencing dysfunction, sometimes causing you pain when the joint is activated.TMJ stands for the temporomandibular joint, the joint that allows the jaw to move.

Your jaw joint, or TMJ, connects both sides of your jaw to your skull just in front of both ears. As a result, any sort of dysfunction, disorder or misalignment within the TMJ and the jaw muscles can be carried into the ear canal. Ear pain caused by TMJ can vary; some patients experience sharp pains while others have a constant mild pain. However, in most cases patients experience ear pain when moving their jaw, such as when they eat, talk, or yawn. While the jaw joint connects just in front of the ear, the pain felt can spread to the temple, cheek, neck, or lower jaw and teeth.

Unlike the ball-like shoulder joint, the TMJ is a sliding joint. It helps with biting, chewing, smiling, speaking, and swallowing. This sliding allows us to distribute pressure placed on the jaw throughout the joint. The nerve connected to the TMJ is a branch of the trigeminal nerve. Therefore, any TMJD can also cause headaches, jaw pain, ear pain, sinus pain, or neck pain. A TMJ dysfunction can be very painful, debilitating, and frustrating. That is why it is important to us at TMJD Physical Therapy to help educate patients and clinicians about this condition and how it should be treated.

- Trouble Chewing, Biting or Swallowing -

- Locked Jaw -

- Ear Pain -

- Neck Pain -

- Sinus Pain -

- Neuromuscular Headaches -

1 Out of Every 12 People

TMJ dysfunction, or TMJ disorder, is much more common than you think. The causes of your dysfunction can range from clenching the jaw and grinding of the teeth to trauma to the head or neck, Over 90 percent of patients with TMJD are women. Over 10 million people in the United States alone,

What Causes TMJD?

- Arthritis -

- Chronic gum chewing -

- Connective tissue disease -

- Issues with your jaw’s discs -

- Previous orthodontic treatment -

- Structurally uneven jaw -

- Traumatic injury to the jaw -

- Unhealthy posture -