Jaw pain can affect your daily life and cause a lot of anxiety and stress. Today, TMD pain can be cured using a very simple and effective treatment. Read on to find out more….
What is TMD?
Temporomandibular joint disorder refers to complications affecting your chewing muscles and the joints located between your lower jaw and base of your skull. Almost a third of adults will suffer from TMD at some point during their lives.
Here at Cliftonville, we treat jaw pain with Botox and Azzalure injections. These injections relax the muscles that are in pain, which in turn prevents unconscious jaw movement; Botox blocks the signals between your motor nerves which means the muscles do not have the information they need to contract. Note that you will not lose the feeling in your muscles as a result of these injections. Treatment can be repeated 3 or 4 times a year – after multiple treatments, the effects begin to last for longer periods of up to 6 months, so you can start to live pain-free again.
Botox and Azzalure can also be used to alleviate pain in the following:
- Neck pain
- Ear pain.
- Jaw pain.
- Head pain.
What will my dentist at Cliftonville do for me?
Your dentist here at Cliftonville will need to take a look at your medical history and examine your facial muscles, shoulders and neck as well as take photographs and discuss your treatment expectations.
How do I know if I’ve got TMD?
If you have TMD complications, it is very likely that you experience some of the following:
- Popping, grating or clicking noise when you move your mouth.
- Pain in the muscles surrounding the jaw.
- Pain at the front of your ear that may have spread to the cheek and temple area.
- Struggling to open your mouth due to tightness.
- Buzzing sensation in the ear.
- Backache and neckache.
Are there particular causes?
The following are all possible causes of TMD:
- Grinding your teeth or clenching your jaw during sleep (other wise known as bruxism). This overstrains your jaw muscles and puts too much pressure on the joint. This is commonly linked to stress.
- Injury or damage to the joint.
- Stress can render some people more sensitive to pain.
- Uneven bite – this can be caused by new crowns, fillings or dentures.
- Disease – TMD is often linked to certain diseases.
If you would like more information about TMD, please do not hesitate to contact us. We can also arrange for you to speak to one of our practitioners, who will be happy to address any complications.