Persistent jaw pain and headaches could mean pressure on the jaw, pressure caused by issues like TMJ disorder and bruxism (teeth grinding). Without treatment, this could damage your smile and lead to major complications. In today’s blog, your Grand Prairie, TX, dentist talks about how we treat TMJ disorder and bruxism!
The Warning Signs of Trouble
How do you know if you need to see us for treatment? While disorders like TMJ disorder and bruxism are different oral health concerns, they are often related as one could lead to the other. With both, you could encounter symptoms like jaw and facial pain, headaches and migraines, aches in the neck and shoulders, and tooth sensitivity and toothaches. If you experience one or more of these symptoms on a regular basis, then you should reach out to our team for a diagnosis. From there, we can create a treatment plan to help address these concerns and safeguard your smile against worsening symptoms and complications, such as tooth decay and dental infection, as well as negative changes to the appearance of your smile.
TMJ Disorder and Bruxism
TMJ disorder means that serious pressure has been applied to your jaw joints, often due to issues that upset bite balance such as misalignment, injury to the face or jaw, tooth loss, or even issues with the growth of your smile or the eruption of your teeth. With bruxism, you grind and clench your teeth on a regular basis, usually at night. This could be caused by the same factors behind TMJ disorder, as well as a high stress level in your daily life. To avoid issues like damaged or aching teeth, and to preserve the appearance of your smile, we can offer a solution with a custom and comfortable oral appliance.
Oral Appliance Therapy
With oral appliance therapy, our team will take detailed digital images of your smile from multiple angles, which we will use to design and craft an oral appliance. The device is then worn as you sleep, and helps shift your jaw to ensure proper balance and avoid TMJ-related symptoms. For people grinding their teeth, this puts a barrier between the upper and lower sets of teeth to prevent further damage to the smile. The appliance is easy to use and clean, and it can travel with you too! If you have developed damage to your teeth, we can use bonding or even custom crowns to offer repair and ensure proper bite balance too. We could also address underlying factors like misalignment or tooth loss with orthodontics or dental prosthetics.
If you have any questions about how we treat TMJ disorder and bruxism with an oral appliance, then contact our team today to learn more.
Schedule a Visit for Oral Appliance Therapy
Our team wants to help you smile with confidence and avoid persistent discomfort. For more information on how we improve overall bite balance, then schedule an appointment with Dr. Smith and our team by calling Pecan Tree Dental in Grand Prairie, TX, today at (972) 262-5111.
