Treating TMJ Disorder And Bruxism Discomfort

cleveland tmj treatment

When your bite is imbalanced and your jaw joints strained, this could cause painful disorders known as TMJ disorder (or TMD) and bruxism (chronic teeth grinding). Without treatment, this could complicate how you eat and speak, and even lead to damaged smiles! In today’s blog, your Cleveland, TX, dentist will discuss how we offer relief.

TMJ Disorder

TMJ disorder is an issue that arises when the joints connecting your jaw and skull undergo excessive strain. The disorder could eventually make opening and closing your mouth fully a difficult process, and is linked to headaches, migraines, jaw and facial pain, and a popping or clicking sensation in the jaw. Factors behind the disorder include misalignment, tooth loss, bruxism, or injury to the face or jaw, basically issues that upset bite balance.

Bruxism

With bruxism, you grind and clench your teeth regularly, which wears down enamel and cracks or chips the teeth. This impacts smile esthetics and leaves your teeth vulnerable to decay and infection. Bruxism could form due to bite balance and high stress levels, and factors behind it include tooth loss, injury to the face or jaw, untreated TMJ disorder, or dental misalignment. Toothaches, sensitive teeth, jaw and facial pain, and headaches and migraines could develop.

Oral Appliance Therapy and Other Solutions

How do we treat these issues? To start, we want to schedule an exam so we can take a look at your smile for signs of wear and friction. Once we assess the cause and extent of your oral health concern, we create a personalized treatment plan. For some, correcting misalignment with orthodontics is the right choice, while others need a custom crown or prosthetic to restore bite balance. But for most, we take digital images and impressions of the smile, using them in a dental lab setting to design and craft an oral appliance.

The appliance is worn as you sleep, and helps reposition the jaw to ease TMD-related symptoms, and also prevents further teeth grinding damage by placing a barrier between the upper and lower teeth. As for the damage to your smile, we could repair the teeth with dental bonding or a custom-made dental crown. If you have any questions about how we treat these oral health issues, then contact our team today to learn more.

Do You Have Questions About Improving Jaw Joint Health?

We would like to help you enjoy relief for the painful symptoms of issues like TMD or bruxism, and obtain repair for any damages to your smile. If you have questions about treating the strain on your jaw joints or chronic teeth grinding, then schedule a consultation today by contacting Cleveland Family Dentistry in Cleveland, TX, at (281) 592-1234. You can also find our practice at 205 E. Houston St. Cleveland, TX 77327.