If you are suffering or have been diagnosed with a Temporomandibular disorder, you may have trouble when you go to the dentist. A Temporomandibular disorder or TMD as it is commonly referred to as a condition where there has been some sort of injury or trauma to the jaw, joints surrounding the jaw or the temporomandibular joint itself. TMD can also be caused from excessive clenching and grinding of the teeth which increases the amount of pressure on the jaw joints, stress and osteoarthritis. People who have this condition have to see a TMD dentist for proper diagnosis and treatment.
In order for a TMD dentist to make sure that your symptoms are the result of any other health conditions, they will need to carefully examine the patient for other signs of this condition. Since some of the other symptoms tend to resemble other ailments and health concerns, you may need a few tests or several tests to confirm the condition. Some of these tests include MRIs, physical examination of the TMD joints, testing for swelling and bruising, listening for clicking and popping sounds and x-rays.
Once the TMD dentist has decided that you are indeed suffering from a case of temporomandibular disorder, they will then go over what your options are for treatment. The severity your TMD will determine the depth of your treatment. Some minor cases can be treated at home by applying ice packs to the area and by stretching the jaw with exercises designed to increase the flexibility and mobility of the joints of the jaw. After ding the exercises, don't forget to take a warm or hot damp cloth and apply it to the area for approximately 10 minutes to keep swelling from developing. To benefit the most from exercising the joint, it must be done two or three times a day.
To help make it easier for you to live with the condition until it is better, you should eat smaller sized foods. Avoid eating anything that is hard or requires you to flex your mouth into a wide position. If you find that you experience pain from this condition, you can use anti-inflammatory pain killers such as ibuprofen and aspirin. If the over the counter doses are not enough to relieve your pain, your TMD dentist can prescribe you something stronger to give you some relief.
If you are suffering from a more severe type of TMD, than you have a few options available that are designed to give you permanent relief from the condition. One treatment is to get laser therapy. Laser therapy can increase the range of motion in the jaw and prevent pain and swelling from occurring.
Getting restorative dental work done to replace missing teeth and straighten any overbites can work wonders to improving this condition. Since it caused from extra stress on the jaw, by reducing the strain and pressure, the condition can be successfully treated.
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