TEMPOROMANDIBULAR JOINT DYSFUNCTION

Dr. James has been managing his own temporomandibular joint dysfunction and pain since he woke up one morning unable to open his mouth due to jaw locking. What was once a horrifying experience became his motivation to understand jaw pain and how to most effectively treat patients who experience it. Dr. James has made it his mission to become the leading conservative care provider in Rochester for jaw pain and dysfunction because he knows firsthand how debilitating it can become when left unchecked.

WHAT IS TMD?

TMD stands for Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction. This is a condition where a patient’s moves in a dysfunctional manner resulting in a variety of symptoms. While many people refer to jaw dysfunction as TMJ, this is actually the name of the joint itself: TemporoMandibular Joint. Patients who suffer from TMD can experience a large variety of symptoms including:

  • Clicking or popping in the jaw, this can happen when opening the jaw, closing the jaw or at both times
  • A sensation of grinding or crepitus in the jaw joint
  • Difficulty opening the jaw all the way
  • Locking of the jaw in either the open or shut position
  • Tingling, numbness or electrical zapping into the jaw, base of the skull or teeth
  • Stiffness, tightness and pain along the jaw, the neck or the side of the skull
  • Headaches
  • An increased tendency to clench one’s teeth
  • Difficulty eating firm foods or chewing gum
WHO EXPERIENCES TMD?

Temporomandibular joint dysfunction is incredibly common. Research shows that up to 35% of people experience TMD at some point in their life. Unfortunately, only between 5-10% of patients who suffer from TMD seek care. This is primarily due to it being difficult to know who you should be seeing for TMD symptoms. Research shows that conservative care, like Chiropractic can greatly aid in the alleviation of TMD symptoms.

Chiropractic for Singers
WHAT CAUSES TMD?

Muscle dysfunction:

  • Dental procedures, this can be anything from oral surgery to braces
  • Jaw overuse  due to speaking for long periods of time, singing
  • Muscle guarding due to clenching, grinding and chewing
  • Trigger points in the muscles of the jaw
  • Direct trauma  to the jaw

Joint dysfunction:

  • Often accompanied by clicking, popping and grinding
  • Can be caused by direct injury to the jaw, clenching or grinding 
  • Injury to ligaments of the jaw
  • Disc displacement, yes the jaw has a disc just like your low back

Cervical spine, the neck:

  • The neck and the jaw have a special connection in the spinal cord that allows for dysfunction of the neck to trigger jaw pain as well as jaw pain to trigger neck pain
  • The same connection happens between the jaw and headaches as well as the neck and headaches
  • Anyone experiencing headaches, neck or jaw pain on their own can, as a result, easily begin to experience the other two or all three if the condition isn’t treated 

Stress:

  • According to the research, patients who experience TMD tend to experience substantial psychological stressors compared to patients without TMD. This includes:
    • Stress
    • Anxiety 
    • Depression
    • Poor sleep
    • Poor diet
HOW CAN CHIROPRACTORS TREAT TMD?

Treating TMD is most effectively done by addressing the primary cause or causes of the dysfunction. While we mentioned the 4 classifications of TMD above, patients can and often do fall under multiple classifications or move from classification to classification throughout the course of their lives and treatment. 

WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN RECEIVING CARE?

We treat TMD with a variety of conservative approaches including, muscle massage, jaw mobilizations, gentle jaw manipulations and rehabilitative exercises. We also address aspects of your lifestyle including sleep, diet and stress management. Additionally, we often recommend working with you dentist to see if any oral appliances are appropriate for aiding in your recovery from TMD.

Meet Our TMD Chiropractor

Rochester Chiropractor Dr. James Walters

Dr. James Walters

Frequently Asked Questions About Chiropractic Care for Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction

Treating TMD is most effectively done by addressing the primary cause or causes of the dysfunction. While we mentioned the 4 classifications of TMD above, patients can and often do fall under multiple classifications or move from classification to classification throughout the course of their lives and treatment. 

Jaw clicking is a common occurrence for many patients experiencing TMJ dysfunction. There are multiple reasons that your jaw may be clicking including; muscle tightness, disc displacement, joint restriction and clenching or grinding. Most of these causes are self explanatory but disc displacement tends to be a cause that most patients are not aware of. Inside the jaw joint is a disc, much like the discs in your spine. As such, displacement can occur in the jaw just as it can in the back. When the click occurs and how many clicks occur when opening and closing the jaw can indicate which type of dysfunction is occuring in the jaw.

Clicking in the jaw is an indicator of jaw dysfunction. However, this doesn’t mean that you will experience jaw pain. The goal of treating TMJ dysfunction is to eliminate the patient’s pain and restore proper function of the jaw. Much of the time, treating the jaw pain and dysfunction will limit or eliminate the jaw clicking. That said, sometimes patients will continue to experience clicking in the jaw even after their pain and dysfunction has resolved. This is normal and indicative of a more benign cause of clicking such as natural wear and tear of the jaw joint which comes with age.

I’ve been going to Dr. James for almost three years now and am constantly impressed while working with him! He has been able to address all of the different concerns I’ve had and change the type of care associated. He’s a very intelligent, skilled, and dedication doctor – and with how friendly and understanding the staff is – Pinnacle Hill is an excellent choice for chiropractic care.