The TM Joint
An Orthopedic Problem with a Dental Solution

TMJ SYMPTOMS

Teeth: these symptoms usually involve sore, loose and broken teeth. A person with tmj may have teeth that are severely worn usually do to night time grinding (bruxism).

Muscles: these symptoms usually involve sore muscles that manifest themselves in headaches on the temples or at the base of the skull. Individual muscles may be sore to the touch. Sore muscles may also result in limited opening.

Joint: These symptoms usually involve popping, clicking and catching in the joints themselves. These symptoms are usually do to inflammation of the joint and its spaces

Other symptoms because of the joints location may manifest themselves as ear problems:

  • Hissing or ringing.
  • Ear pain, ear ache (in the absence of infection).
  • Vertigo, dizziness.
  • When people have TMJ problems, it results from the simple fact, that when they put their teeth together, the teeth do not allow your joint to go into the correct position. This is a factor external to the joint itself.
    •  Problems associated with the jaw joint itself are Disk Displacement and Include:

    The disc is displaced to a position in front of the condyle. This results in first a “clicking” or “popping” sound. The disc at this stage is still able to slip or pop back onto the top position on the condyle during the open / close cycle.

    The next stage is Locking of the Joint:

    “Locking” of the jaw joint occurs when the disc is no longer able to slip or pop back on top of the condyle during the opening or closing cycle. When this occurs, the mandible opens only in the first part of its motion and is not able to complete a full cycle - the person often exhibits a limited opening of their mouth.


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