After a while tolerating pain in your jaw, you are ready to seek help. Because the pain isn’t in your teeth but your temporomandibular joint (TMJ), you consider making an appointment with your physician. However, a medical professional shouldn’t be your first go-to resource for this kind of problem—your dentist is! Keep reading to learn reasons you should turn to your dentist in this situation.
Your Dentist Can Help Identify the Cause of TMJ Pain.
TMJ pain can stem from several causes, and a medical professional does not have the training to tell if the problem is dentally related or not or can be treated through dental methods, meaning you may have to schedule a dental appointment anyway. A dentist, however, can either diagnose a dental cause or eliminate one as a possible cause. They can evaluate your bite and examine the jaw joint for potential damage or misalignment.
Your Dentist Is an Expert in Solving Oral Problems.
Although you may think of your dentist only as the professional who takes care of cavities or missing teeth, they have been trained to help with much more. Not only do they take three years of dental schooling learning about the entire oral cavity, but each dentist must take a certain number of coursework hours every year to maintain their licensing. Needless to say, they know quite a bit about oral issues and how to treat them, and they can help determine the underlying cause.
TMJ Treatment Is Often Simple.
At first, you may fear that treating your TMJ disorder could entail a lot of work or invasive procedures. However, you’re likely to find that the solution is pretty straightforward. Most of the time, TMJ problems can be taken care of with an oral appliance that is worn during sleep. It separates the upper and lower teeth, stopping them from grinding or clenching, and it helps the jaw joint relax, easing tension and discomfort.
A Dentist Can Address TMJ Symptoms.
Although some causes don’t originate in the mouth, such as arthritis or stress, your dentist can prevent the symptoms of TMJ from harming your smile and giving you pain. In most cases, even if an oral appliance doesn’t directly affect the underlying cause, your teeth and jaw joint don’t have to suffer.
In other cases, TMJ discomfort may be the result of an unbalanced or uneven bite, which your dentist can resolve. Correcting mild to moderate tooth misalignment through clear aligners like ClearCorrect allows upper and lower teeth to meet properly, eliminating the source of tension and pain.
In the end, if you are experiencing jaw pain, the first person you should turn to for assistance is your dentist. They have the skills and means to give you relief as quickly as possible.
About the Practice
The team at Boyles General Dentistry & Implant Center is uniquely qualified to help with any concern you have about the oral cavity. Dr. Franklin Boyles and Dr. Stephen Boyles are both Fellows with the Academy of General Dentistry, which only a small percentage of dentists have achieved throughout the country. They offer TMJ treatment in their Midland practice and invite anyone struggling with TMJ disorder to make an appointment by calling 432-685-7011 or clicking here.