What is TMJ Disorder?

TMJ stands for "temporomandibular joint," or jaw joint. These small joints are in front of each ear and attach the lower jaw to the skull. They are two of the most complex joints in the entire body. When a variety of symptoms arise from problems with these joints, this is referred to as TMJ disorder, or just TMJ. The area of the face where the TMJ is located is an intricate network of muscles, nerves, and bones, including the teeth. Because of this, conditions caused by TMJ disorder can affect many areas of the body, from the top of the head in migraine-like headaches to numbness or tingling in the arms and pain in the neck or shoulders, in addition to jaw pain and lock jaw (limited jaw movement), which are more readily associated with TMJ disorder.

Who Suffers From TMJ Disorder?

Surprisingly, the vast majority of people suffer from some form of TMJ symptoms, the difference being some suffer to a greater or lesser degree from symptoms than others. Women report more pain from TMJ than men, however, TMJ in men causes as much or more damage to the teeth, gums, bones and joints. Men and women who suffer from TMJ symptoms report headaches, snoring, grinding of their teeth at night, and/or clicking and popping of the jaw, whereas severe cases or untreated patients might report limited jaw movement or jaw locking, facial pain and/or more severe or frequent headaches (including migraine headaches). Some patients wear or grind away significant amount of teeth. Others might suffer from bad posture and/or back pain due to trying to accommodate for the underlying causes of TMJ disorder.

What Causes TMJ?

In most cases, TMJ disorders and associated symptoms stem from a condition called malocclusion, which means having a "bad bite", or from accidents or trauma. Malocclusion means that your upper and lower teeth do not close together in the correct fashion - they are misaligned. This includes under bites and overbites.

Read on to understand more about causes of TMJ disorder and TMJ symptoms, or read about how to arrive at an accurate TMJ diagnosis here.

Why Worry About A "Bad Bite"?

Done unconsciously, your body will work to accommodate any problem with your bite. As your jaw performs normal activities like talking, breathing and eating, your mouth swallows thousands of times throughout the course of a day. When you swallow, your jaw puts your teeth together to form a bite. Multiply this by days and months, and you'll realize your jaw is one of the most active systems in the human body. And it combines the use of the surrounding nerves, muscles, bones, teeth and tongue - all of which are subsequently connected to most other major nervous and muscular systems of the body.

When your bite is out of alignment, your jaw will try to move your teeth to a position where the bite returns to a proper alignment. It does this again and again - day and night. The degree to which your bite is out of alignment is the degree to which these muscles will be under contraction - under strain. Your jaw is waiting to relax - but never can. It doesn't get a chance before it is asked to perform again. As such, the muscles of the jaw attempt to move to this other, strained position permanently.

When your teeth come together in a poor bite, your teeth may not touch together as they were designed. This small but ever-constant pressure can, incrementally over time, chip and wear away teeth. Just like a waterfall or the movement of waves will slowly break down rock, earth and stone, so your jaw starts to break down your bones: teeth included. For certain people, this can lead to other problems even if pain is not present. For example, some older patients, not having had a cavity since their youth, might suddenly start getting cavities again!

In addition, your jaw and bite is a critical system that the rest of the body depends upon during everyday activity. More research comes out year after year about how problems with the jaw and TMJ system result in systemic problems throughout the body. In some unique situations, it has been noted that poor posture will be assumed in the body's attempt to line someone's bite up better. Even if you exercise routinely, you still take breaks between workouts. But people are constantly talking, breathing, swallowing and chewing, awake or asleep, and so the body will frequently work to align the bite in preference to other systems. It's simply being used more often.

How is TMJ Disorder Treated?

Dr. Miller is a neuromuscular dentist, trained at The Las Vegas Institute for Advanced Dental Studies. Dr. Miller treats TMJ disorder using the techniques and he learned from being a student and instructor at this organization. Dr. Miller will first measure the most relaxed position of your jaw to determine the goal for normal jaw positioning. Then he works to realign the bite and restore the teeth in order for the jaw and joints to be in their optimal position.

Once the bite is realigned and the jaw is in place, symptoms like pain or tooth wear that resulted from the imbalance disappears. Find out more about TMJ treatment here.