Do
you really have TMJD or is it something else? How can you find out?
The major problem in TMJ treatment
is to find out if the pain is muscular, or joint related or both. TMJD masquerades as
other syndromes and other problems mimic TMJ pain. Successful therapy cannot be instituted
without the exact diagnosis.
Some things to look for by
yourself:
- Do you have grating sounds in the
jaw when you open and close?
- Does your jaw lock up when you try
to move it?
- Do you hear clicking or popping
sounds in front of your ears?
- Did the symptoms occur after a car
accident or other trauma to your face?
- Have you ever been hit in the jaw?
- Are you missing many teeth,
especially in the back of your mouth?
- Did you wear braces with a headgear
for a long time?
- When your open your jaw does it
open to one side or another?
- If you put your pinky fingers into
your ears, can you feel the fingers get compressed when you open your mouth?
- Do you see that one side of your
teeth hits harder than the other?
- Did the symptoms occur soon after
dental treatment?
- Do you have poorly fitting partial
or full dentures?
If you have any of the above, your
may have "TMJD", but:
If you do not have any of the
above and you experience great stress in your life, pain around your face, unexplained
dizziness, or blurred vision, or if you are a clencher, or tooth grinder, what we call a
bruxer, you may have a muscular problem called MPDS or myofacial pain dysfunction syndrome
or other problems rather than "TMJD." Disorders such as fibromyalgia, trigeminal
neuralgia, stylomandibular ligament-styloid process syndrome, also known as Ernest
syndrome, occipital neuralgia and temporal tendinitis must be ruled out.
How to find out?
It is important to do these
things;
- We must find out all of the
symptoms, and how long they have been present.
- A complete review of the medical
history, especially any other diagnostic tests and/or previous treatments for your
problem.
- A comprehensive and lengthy
examination of all of the hard and soft tissue structures of your head, neck, shoulders
and back.
- Properly constructed radiographs of
the temporomandibular joint; lateral transcranial x-rays at the minimum; sometimes a CAT
or MRI is indicated. A typical panographic x-ray is not diagnostic for most
temporomandibular joint problems.
- Sometimes psychometric testing for
stress is performed.
The above diagnostic tests are the
minimum to begin the diagnosis.
URL: http://www.tmjheadache.com
E-mail: drg@tmjheadache.com