Do you have a popping or clicking sensation in your jaw? If so, this could be a warning sign of an issue known as TMJ disorder, or TMD. You could also be suffering from bruxism (chronic teeth grinding). Without treatment, this could mean strain on your smile and uncomfortable symptoms. Your teeth could eventually become damaged, increasing the risk of tooth decay and even dental infection. But we can help! In today’s blog, your Leawood, KS, dentist talks about how we ease popping in your jaw and protect your overall oral health with an oral appliance.
Popping in Your Jaw
If you have a popping or crackling sensation in your jaw, or pain when you bite down or chew, this could be a sign of strain in your bite. You could also experience headaches, migraines, jaw and facial aches, and even pain in the neck and shoulders. If you happen to grind your teeth too, then this grinding and clenching could lead to painful toothache and tooth sensitivity when you eat or drink. Don’t ignore pain in and around your face, teeth, and jaw. Talk to our team and we can conduct a diagnosis to see if you need an oral appliance to handle your TMJ disorder, bruxism, or both.
Causes of TMD
With TMJ disorder, then jaw joints that connect your skull and jaw become strained, often due to factors like teeth grinding, tooth loss, misalignment, injury, or even issues with the growth of the jaw or eruption of the teeth. Wisdom teeth could be a factor too. This strain could lead to uncomfortable symptoms and even complications with how you open and close your mouth. To avoid this stress and strain and prevent further damage, we can provide relief with a custom oral appliance.
Bruxism
Untreated TMJ disorder can lead to bruxism and vice-versa. With bruxism, you grind or clench your teeth at night. Your significant other could let you know this is happening, or you could experience the symptoms we have discussed above. Without treatment, these pressures could wear down teeth and alter your smile’s appearance, and even crack or chip the outer enamel. The damage then exposes sensitive inner structure to bacteria, allowing painful tooth decay or infection to occur, and retting the stability of your smile. Treatment is needed to prevent further damage to your teeth.
Examining Your Smile
Our team will look closely at your teeth with digital imaging technology, so we can assess the factors behind the wear and friction of your teeth, and identify the state of your oral health and the issues threatening it. We can then offer treatment to ease symptoms and protect your smile. If damage has already occurred, then we could use dental bonding or even custom crowns to offer repair, so you avoid painful symptoms and imbalance in your bite.
Treatment with Oral Appliances
To create and custom-fit an oral appliance, our team will gather detailed digital images and measurements of your bite from multiple angles. We then combine them to create a 3D impression of your bite, which is essential for designing and crafting your custom appliance in a lab setting. The completed device will look and fit like a mouthguard. When worn at night, this device helps reposition the jaw to ease strass and strain, offering relief from TMD symptoms. If you grind your teeth, this offers a soft barrier that sits between the upper and lower teeth to prevent further damage to the smile. The appliance is simple to use, easy to clean, and can travel with you as needed. This offers a convenient and noninvasive resolution for bruxism and TMD.
Protecting Your Smile with Lifestyle Changes
You can also help with changes to your daily routine. For example, try to cut down on the stress in your daily life, as this could be a factor behind bruxism and TMD symptoms. You should also avoid caffeinated products, and hard or chewy foods that could exacerbate symptoms. If you have any questions about how our team will diagnose and treat issues like TMJ disorder and bruxism, or if you have a popping or crackling sensation in your jaw that needs attention, then contact our office right away to discuss possible symptoms. We look forward to helping you enjoy relief and protecting your oral health and bite function!
Schedule a Visit for TMD and Bruxism Relief
Our team wants to offer a noninvasive solution to the pain in your jaw. To learn more about easing the pressure of TMD, call Dreem Dentistry in Leawood, KS, today at (913)681-5500.
