The Three Types of TMJ

TMJ is a difficult disorder to overcome. Everyone who suffers from it has different root causes, experiences, pain levels, symptoms, and much more. Luckily, there are ways to treat TMJ and go back to living a normal life without jaw pain and stiffness. The first step to proper TMJ treatment is knowing which type of TMJ you have. Keep reading to learn more about the three types of TMJ and how to get the best TMJ treatment possible for your jaw.

Normal TMJ

Temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) are a group of more than 30 conditions that cause pain and dysfunction in the jaw joint and muscles that control jaw movement. “TMDs” refers to the disorders, and “TMJ” refers only to the temporomandibular joint itself. People have two TMJs, one on each side of the jaw. You can feel them by placing your fingers in front of your ears and opening your mouth.

Normal TMJ refers to the pain in the muscles that control the jaw movement, also known as Myofascial pain.

Dislocated TMJ

Dislocated TMJ is exactly how it sounds: displacement of the jaw joint. This can happen through many different causes. First, you may have experienced a jaw injury that dislocated your jaw. You may also have opened your mouth too wide or held it open for too long. This can happen while eating large foods such as hamburgers, from yawning, from dental procedures, or vomiting.

Symptoms of a dislocated jaw include:

• You cannot close your mouth
• Pain and tenderness
• Jaw feels out of position
• Jaw feels frozen
• Jaw feels stiff
• Jaw is swollen

Arthritis TMJ

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common type of arthritis affecting the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) — the jaw — but rheumatoid arthritis (RA), psoriatic arthritis, juvenile arthritis (JA) and lupus are also associated with TMJ pain in adults. People with arthritis in the jaw may also have the same type of arthritis in other joints.

If you experience pain or stiffness in your jaw, this could be a sign of arthritis. Other symptoms include limited movement of the jaw, pain in the neck and shoulders, headaches, tinnitus, and even dizziness.

How to Treat All 3 Types of TMJ

Luckily, no matter which type of TMJ you suffer from, there are ways to treat it. At Advanced Sleep and TMJ Solutions, Dr. Connor has a national reputation for treating patients suffering from TMJ/TMD. Her revolutionary, non-invasive methods can, in many instances, almost instantly relieve the pain you have been suffering. Dr. Connor’s holistic approach to treating TMJ requires no pills or surgery, and it treats the root cause so that once treatment is complete, your TMJ will be nothing more than a distant memory.

TMJ is a progressive, chronic condition that will not go away on its own. The longer you wait, the worse it will get.

For more information, visit us at AdvancedSleepAndTMJSolutions.com!