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What Causes jaw Pain?
You might have heard that TMJ disorder includes clicking/popping or grating sounds in the jaw, limited opening, flat teeth, pain in the jaw joint, and headaches. But why does this happen? When you breathe through your mouth, the tongue rests incorrectly on the floor instead of the roof of the mouth. If the tongue rests on the bottom of the mouth then it is not providing the right arch shape it needs to support the maxilla. When the tongue rests on the bottom of the mouth and the maxilla collapses into a V-shaped arch, throwing the entire orofacial system off balance. This V-shaped arch narrows the top arch which in turn pushes on the TMJ disk. This pressure on the disk causes jaw pain.
Symptoms of TMJ Disorder
Unfortunately, anything that affects the functionality or structure of the joint can lead to TMJ disorder. Temporomandibular disorders can be hard to pinpoint due to the many factors that may be contributing to them.
Jaw & Facial Pain
Earache
Hearing Difficulties
Tinnitus (ringing of the ears)
Headaches
Toothaches
Clicking or grating sounds when opening or chewing
Locking Open of the Jaw
Treatment for Jaw Pain
Depending on where the pain is coming from, most of the time Myofunctional Therapy would be a non-invasive treatment option. Most of the time TMJ disorder is caused by myofunctional disorder and myofunctional therapy was created to treat these types of disorders.
Myofunctional therapy strengthens and retrains the oral and facial muscles. It can also correct dysfunctional swallowing and chewing patterns, restore nasal breathing, and get the tongue to rest in the correct place. Many times, TMJ disorder is caused by a myofunctional disorder and myofunctional therapy is a viable option to treat these types of disorders.
Risk Factors
Many people fall victim to putting off treatment for TMJ disorder. If TMJ disorder goes untreated you put yourself at risk for more painful symptoms and additional medical issues.
Chronic Jaw Pain
Recurring Headaches And Migraines
Joint Inflammation and Damage
Tinnitus