Alleviating Jaw Pain Through Dentistry

It's an unfortunate fact of life that pain can occur virtually anywhere on the body, but one of the most annoying and potentially debilitating types of pain is chronic jaw pain. Your jaw allows you to do so many of the everyday actions we take for granted, such as speaking, eating, laughing, drinking and more. When you suffer from jaw pain, it can affect every aspect of your life, decrease your confidence, and make you reluctant to leave the house. That's why it's so essential to properly diagnose and treat such pain. If you've been to the doctor about your malady but received little to no help in return, you may think that you simply have to resign yourself to living with jaw pain, but in fact nothing could be further from the truth. You may just have to look elsewhere for help, and turning to a dentist with experience in alleviating jaw pain is an excellent place to start.

How is jaw pain related to dentistry? While your teeth and your jaw are clearly connected to one another, if your pain isn't specifically tooth-related you may write off a trip to the dentist as a waste of time and money. But there are ways in which dental problems can manifest themselves as pain in the jaw – in fact, jaw pain is one of the most common symptoms of TMJ disease. The acronym “TMJ” refers to the temporomandibular joint – the hinge that connects your jaw to the rest of your face. When this joint is misaligned or inflamed, the results is TMJ disease. Beyond aches and pains in the jaw, symptoms include trouble opening and closing the mouth, discomfort or a clicking sound that occurs while chewing, headaches, vision problems, tinnitus, and more. For those who have battled TMJ problems for many years, it may seem like there is no cure for this painful disorder. Luckily, there is a way to combat jaw pain and TMJ symptoms with the help of your dentist.

While not all dentists know how to properly care for patients with TMJ disease, some – like Dr. Eddie Siman of Millennium Dental in Sherman Oaks, California – have devised strategies that will virtually cure TMJ symptoms (including jaw pain) without surgery! It all begins with the correct diagnosis. Dr. Siman will use a series of tests, as well as tomography (a method of taking X-ray photos of the jaw joint), to determine the exact “layout” of your mouth and jawbone, including any bite alignment problems that may be causing you pain. The team at Millennium Dental will then create a mold of your mouth in order to create your custom orthotics, which is Dr. Siman's primary method of non-surgically treating TMJ-related jaw pain. Orthotics are basically dental appliances that can be worn to fix the bite and alleviate pain. If you're pleased with the results of your orthotics, you may want to take your treatment one step further and invest in full mouth reconstruction to make the changes initiated by Dr. Siman permanent.

Remember, you don't have to live with jaw pain! Contact Millennium Dental today and find out what you can do to reclaim your life through dentistry.