These days, a dentist can be trained to work on more than just your teeth and gums. That’s because you can have other problems with your mouth and jaw. One of those is commonly called TMJ disorder, a serious condition that can lead to lockjaw or worse.

If you are having any trouble with your jaw, you need to call us at 859-474-7830 and schedule your next appointment. Our dentists are trained and experienced in using custom mouthguards for TMJ treatment, helping you get relief from jaw pain and keeping your jaw healthy.

What To Watch For

TMJ stands for “temporomandibular joint”. These are what moves your jawbone, so you use your TMJ whenever you chew but also when you talk, drink, or just breathe through your mouth. As you can see, your TMJ are vital to your well-being. So when these start to give you problems, it’s not something you should ignore.

What kind of problems? This disorder can be different from person to person, but here are some common TMJ symptoms you should look out for:

  • Facial swelling: As the muscles in the jaw joints get damaged, they can swell up a bit. You’ll notice the sides of your face are a bit swollen, not your mouth itself.
  • Noise when you chew: People who have TMJ disorder tend to hear a popping or clicking noise when opening or closing the mouth. This happens because the jaw joint is damaged and does not work as it should.
  • Jaw stiffness: When TMJ problems are not treated soon enough, you could start to have difficulty opening or closing your jaw, especially all the way open. This can mean just a little trouble or a lot.
  • Pain or discomfort when chewing: As the TMJ get more damaged through this condition, you can experience some pain when chewing. But the pain comes from your jaw and sides of your face, not your teeth or gums.
  • Earaches and neck pain: Your muscles are all interconnected, so when the ones in your TMJ are hurt, they tense up and pull on nearby muscles. This can lead to pain in the area, including your ears and neck. Some people even get some upper back pain.

Get TMJ Treatment

One reason people get TMJ problems is through grinding teeth, especially while they sleep. Night is when your jaw joints should be resting so they can heal naturally. But if you’re grinding your teeth a lot, you put too much stress on those muscles and create problems.

That’s where a custom mouthguard from our Edgewood, KY dental office can help. This is a thin, comfortable tray you wear over your teeth as you sleep. This helps in two ways:

  1. It protects your teeth from getting damaged with all that grinding.
  2. It shifts your jaw just enough so it can rest and heal on its own.

Over time, the mouthguard will help alleviate the TMJ symptoms you are experiencing and get your jaw joints back to a healthy state.

Call us today at 859-474-7830 or use our online form to make your next appointment for TMJ treatment. Wait too long, and your TMJ can start to get stiff and give you trouble when you try to open or close your mouth. No one deserves that, but you have to get the right treatment first.