TMJ Treatment Options Available to the Patients

A patient needs to be well versed with some basic information concerning TMJ disorder before he settles on any TMJ treatment options available. TMJ disorder is a medical condition that occurs when the temporomandibular joint that connects the lower and upper jaw is misaligned or stressed. The effect of TMJ disorder causes severe pain in the jaw and face and in some instances the disorder also causes pain in shoulder and neck. The cause of TMJ disorder requires extremely careful diagnosis and examination. Once the cause of the disorder has been established there are myriad of TMJ treatment options available to be administered to the patient ranging from natural options, bite therapy, TMJ exercises to the dentists such as the pain relief through mouth guard application.

TMJ treatment as stated before includes many options. Firstly, the patient is relieved of pain through the application of mouth guard which is commonly known as dental splints. The second step in TMJ treatment is the bite therapy principle application and tools to analyze the actual cause of misalignment or stress that is causing the problem to the patient. Routine exercises involving jaw are created in order to eliminate the grinding or clenching that contributes to the lower jaw stress if necessary.

TMJ mouth guards pain relief treatment:
This TMJ treatment option is also known as splints which have also been used to treat teeth clenching, grinding and TMJ disorders for many years. Many TMJ sufferers find this option quite useful though its benefits vary from one patient to another. The mouth guard sometimes loses its effectiveness over the time or when the patient stops wearing it. The function of the mouth guard is to make it difficult for a patient to clench his or her jaws in the instance it is considered as the initial step in TMJ pain relief.

TMJ treatment through jaw exercises:
The TMJ exercises are designed in a way that helps in relaxing the patient's jaws and eliminate clenching. In addition, the jaw exercises help in correcting alignment problems. Once the dentist has done a careful analysis he or she provides the patient with appropriate series of simple exercises that the patient can perform in front of the mirror. The essence of a mirror while doing TMJ exercises is to help the patient see the misalignment which is one of the factors in TMJ disorder. The exercises help in guiding the patient in controlling the jaw muscles thus eliminating clenching.

TMJ bite therapy:
This TMJ treatment option is also called TMJ therapy. This TMJ treatment is used by the dentists in finding the causes of TMJ disorder and providing the patients with long term pain relief. The TMJ bite therapy starts with a careful and in depth analysis of the patient's mouth and jaw in order to find the causes of the disorder. The issues that a dentist looks for includes jaw clenching which is attributed to stress among many patients.

It is important to note that some TMJ disorder cases can be treated successfully, although it is difficult to diagnose some of the disorder problems and get an effective solution at the initial stages of the problem. It is advisable to seek doctor's attention for TMJ treatment if you have problem in opening your mouth or if you have a problem in eating. Also, it is important to note that various conditions such as whiplash injuries and arthritis cause TMJ disorder. Apart from dentists, experts who are trained in facial pain can also help in diagnosing and treating TMJ disorder. Finally, some TMJ patients opt for natural TMJ treatment options to address their plight.