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Dr. Nieten can truly help you with
your TMD symptoms. Please
don't put off treatment of this joint. Neglect of
this important joint can and will only cause more
irreparable damage to it.
Please read on to learn more about
the symptoms, causes, and treatments for this bothersome
if not painful and damaging condition. If
you have any of the symptoms listed on this or the
previous page, please contact us right away to put
an end to your discomfort or pain and any further
damage to this joint.
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When most individuals think of TMJ, they think
of the common bothersome (or even painful) disorder found
in the joint that connects your jaws. Most of us have known
someone with this disorder. However,
TMJ is actually not a condition at all, but rather the joint
itself (one that all of us possess) called the temporomandibular
joint (TMJ). It is a complex slide and rotation
hinge joint that allows the lower jaw to open and close,
move forward and backward, and move side to side in relationship
to the upper jaw. This joint is at work while you are eating,
speaking, and other useful purposes. There are also various
muscles, ligaments, cartilage, fibrous connective tissue,
blood vessels, nerves, and a disk that are involved in the
process. When these components
are not in harmony (disorder) a host of problems can develop,
the most well known of these conditions is TMD (temporomandibular
disorder), commonly but mistakenly referred
to as TMJ.
All of the TMD symptoms listed on this page
are related to an improper lower jaw position, muscle imbalance,
and or joint disease. Joint disease
can be the source of problems, but is most often the result
of problems. The
most common cause of TMJ related problems (in 85 - 90 %
of the cases) is improper lower jaw position.
This causes compression of the blood and nerve supply at
the back of the joint and damage to the disk and posterior
ligament. In short, this can lead to any combination of
the symptoms listed on the previous page.
Another common related problem that we see
when the jaws and teeth are not in proper position (malocclusion),
jaw muscles must over exert to bring the teeth together,
causing: tired muscles, sore muscles, and muscle spasms.
Muscle imbalance can also lead
to throat problems and neck and shoulder pain in advanced
cases.
One more potential problem that we frequently
see is when the occlusion or bite is not correct, this
can cause a person to grind their teeth excessively (bruxism)
or hold teeth together with excessive force (clenching)
because of stress. This can cause excessive wear of teeth
(attrition) or tender or sensitive teeth.
