“TMJ” is actually your jaw joint: Temporomandibular Joint, so a more accurate term would be TMD or Temporomandibular DYSFUNCTION. TMD problems are typically understood as pain in or around the jaw joint, sometimes with popping or clicking sounds or a jaw that will lock, and this is easy to diagnose. However, some patients do not have jaw pain at all but one or more of the above-mentioned symptoms.

Many people suffer from chronic headaches, neck problems, muscle tenderness around the head and neck, ringing in their ears, or loss of hearing, with a medical doctor being unable to come up with a reason or a diagnosis. Many people get the diagnosis ‘Fibromyalgia” because they have pain without any obvious cause. Treatment by a Chiropractor or physical therapy has given temporary relief, but not drastic long-term results.

A lot of people with these kinds of symptoms could have an underlying bite issue and/or TMJ (temporomandibular joint) problem. It creates an imbalance in the body that we are wired to compensate for. The compensation will long-term create problems somewhere else. The same would happen if a person has 2 legs that are of different length. For a long time, the body can compensate until a threshold is reached, and the person will most likely end up back problems because of the imbalance. Treating the back problem would be a symptomatic treatment, addressing the underlying leg discrepancy could lead to a cure and optimal health.

Other symptoms that a dentist with a whole body systemic approach would be looking for are signs of overload of the chewing system, such as bruxism/clenching leading to wear on teeth, cracked or fractured teeth, gum tissue recession and bone loss around teeth, extra bone growing below tongue or in roof of mouth, ledges on teeth along gum tissue (abfractions), which many have been told are from “brushing to hard” but really is micro fracturing of the tooth due to excessive bite forces.

Our TMJ/TMJ treatment is a non-surgical, non-pharmaceutical approach that addresses the underlying issue…….NOT just treating the symptoms. We want to help people get back to a pain-free life, so they can enjoy and live life to their fullest.

If you think you “Got TMJ” and would like to know more about how we might be able to assist you, please give us a call so we can sit down and chat.