When you think of what dentists do, you tend to think about teeth. After all, it’s their job to keep your smile healthy! But these days, they do a lot more than just work on teeth. In fact, they can help you with your jaw joints.
You use these joints whenever you chew, talk, or open/close your mouth. In other words, they are very important to you! So when they get hurt and don’t work right, you could be facing some serious health problems such as lockjaw.
Call Dr. Martin today at 941-585-0424 and make an appointment to be checked for TMJ disorder. This is when your jaw joints cannot heal and start to complicate your wellness. Thankfully, a modern-trained dentist can treat this disorder and help get you back to how you should be.
Heal With These Treatments
TMJ disorder tends to hurt you in several ways.
- Bruxism (or Teeth Grinding): This is when you grind your teeth together without realizing it. This grinding often happens while you are asleep, which is part of why your TMJ cannot heal naturally — they are always being used. It also wears down your enamel, creating weak spots in your teeth.
- Pain When Chewing: As the muscles in your jaw joints get damaged, it can be painful to use them. That means chewing can cause you discomfort, especially with foods that are chewy or hard. Sometimes, the pain is bad enough that you don’t want to eat anything.
- Lockjaw: When the TMJ get seriously hurt, they can simply not work. This can leave you with your mouth stuck open or closed, and it takes a lot of effort to change that.
- Migraines: All that discomfort and damage can make your muscles tense. In turn, this leads to headaches and eventually strong migraines that are very painful and distracting.
That’s why you need TMJ treatment from Smiles of Punta Gorda. Something as simple as a custom mouthguard can adjust your jaw when you sleep, giving the muscles there time to rest and heal. This can help prevent bruxism, lockjaw, and more.
Check For Symptoms
How do you know if you have jaw joint problems? Here are some TMJ signs you should look for:
- Tender jaw joints: When you have TMJ disorder, the muscles there cannot get the rest they need. That’s why they can be tender and cause some discomfort from time to time.
- Popping or clicking noises: Your jaw joints can get swollen and sore, so when using them to chew or just open your mouth, you might hear some popping or clicking sounds as the muscles there struggle to work normally.
- Jaw stiffness: It’s not like this problem makes you go from normal to lockjaw overnight. As those joints suffer, they start to get a bit stiff. You may have just a little difficulty in opening or closing your mouth.
- Minor facial swelling: Swollen, tender muscles tend to swell up. If you have TMJ disorder, you might have some small swelling on one or both sides of your face.
Call us today at 941-585-0424 or use our online form to schedule your next visit. Even if you’re unsure if those symptoms apply to you, why risk serious problems when you can get a simple TMJ treatment right here in Punta Gorda, FL?