The annoying temporomandibular joint disorder

The temporomandibular joint (TMJ) is a disorder of the branch of dentistry the joint that connects the jaw to the side of the skull. We can feel it by putting your fingers on the skin that is ahead of the ear hole, while we open our mouths.

Temporomandibular disorders (TMD) include all functional disturbances of the masticatory system and all structural failures associated with them as the muscles of mastication, facial and cranial muscles, and bones of the skull and face.

What causes can produce?

The cause of temporomandibular disorders is multifactorial, since they generally do not trigger a single factor, but the complex combination of factors.However, there are five main causes associated with the occurrence of these disorders and generally are combined in the same patient.

1) Emotional stress.2) Imbalance of dental occlusion (malpositioned teeth, defective prosthesis, lack of teeth).3) Injuries in facial and cranial structures.4) parafunctional habits such as bruxism (clenching and teeth grinding).5) Deep pain associated with diseases of other structures such as the ear or the cervical vertebrae.  

What are the symptoms that a disorder of the temporomandibular joint?

The symptoms are varied and include both structures near the masticatory apparatus as seemingly distant structures that seem to have no connection with temporomandibular disorders. Some of the most common symptoms are pain in the jaw and TMJ, muscle aches face and skull, headaches (migraines false), among other ailments. Also, there may be some difficulty in opening or closing the mouth, chewing or swallowing and decreased mouth opening. Drowsiness, dizziness and earaches are also some of the symptoms that the patient may suffer.

What treatments exist for these disorders?

Patients with these disorders should be treated comprehensively, achieving restoring health to other structures of the body through the rehabilitation of the masticatory apparatus. Treatments should be personalized in order to balance the jaw movements and dental occlusion. Thus, we recover the temporomandibular joint and the muscles of mastication, improving and eliminating many of the symptoms associated with TMJ disorders such as headaches, dizziness, etc. According to the case they are held different therapeutic behaviors among which are:- Similar to those used in orthodontics in order to balance the jaw movements braces.- Physiotherapy specialized in the temporomandibular joint.- Dental occlusion settings by adjusting or restitution of dental restorations (fillings) and defective prosthesis.- Settings dental occlusion by orthodontic treatment and dentofacial orthopedics with the help of kinesiológicas techniques.- Splints download (Michigan, Downtown Mandibular Mandibular Advancement).