TMJ Diagnosis - How Can I Diagnose TMJ

If you or someone close to you has been experiencing continuous or recurring jaw pain, you might need a TMJ diagnosis. TMJ disorder is a condition which affects the jaw joint that allows you to talk, eat, chew, yawn, etc.  There are a variety of factors that may irritate the joint, which can lead to pain as well as additional distressing side effects. If you believe your problem is related to TMJ may need a professional diagnosis, here are some other things to think about.

Common Symptoms

Since the condition affects the jaw, some of the primary symptoms include pain or tenderness in and around parts of your face. For example, you might experience tenderness around your jaw. You may find it tender to the touch near your jaw bone. That pain may even have traveled down into your neck and shoulders. Sometimes resulting in TMJ back pain, as well.

Because this condition worsens over time, without treatment, eventually you may experience pain while simply biting or chewing food. The joint is engaged in these activities and has to move while eating or chewing.  The motion will radiate pain messages from the trigeminal nerve into the brain. You could also experience tightness, stiffness or even having your jaw lock into an open or closed position, as the pain and condition advances.

Ear-Related Symptoms Are Sometimes Overlooked

At times, the pain and tension you feel won’t be directly connected to your jaw which can lead to a non TMJ diagnosis by some medical professionals. Even so, scientific studies are discovering that a large number of problems relating to the ear are often traced back to issues with the jaw and TMJ.

The tiny muscles within the ear and in the jaw share a nerve so when one tenses with pain so does the other. The effect can be chronic earaches misdiagnosed as an ear infection or persistent TMJ tinnitus.

Other Frequent Symptoms

• A TMJ diagnosis can simply be based on jaw joint pain only, yet, there are other symptoms that will validate your condition. The most common validation is clicking or popping sounds when you open your mouth.
• Because of the problems within the ear, TMJ side effects might also consist of repeated instances of lightheadedness or dizziness which can be so severe to lead to nausea vomiting. That’s due to the small bones inside the ear that control our balance and when that bone gets compromised it stimulates our gag reflex and makes us nauseous.
• Headaches and upper body pains are common side effects of the TMJ disorder.

Getting Your TMJ Diagnosis

It is vital to get an accurate diagnosis for this condition. It is important consult with a TMJ dentist that has extensive experience in TMJ diagnosis and treatments. Surprisingly, TMJ is still a fairly new area of diagnosis and treatment for many doctors and dentists. Often they end up unknowingly treating only the symptoms rather than diagnosing their real cause, TMJ disorder. That does not solve your problem.

Make sure you contact TMJ professional if you have any of the symptoms addressed above. This disorder will not disappear on its own or fix itself, it will however, get worse without treatment.  A highly skilled TMJ dentist can diagnose and treat all of the symptoms and cure the problem permanently.  Call Dr. Siman today to schedule an appointment so you can stop the pain once and for all.