TMJ disorders are a group of problems related to your jaw joint. Frequent headaches, tender or painful jaw muscles, "clicking and popping" sounds in the joints, and decreased jaw opening are a few common symptoms of temporomandibular joint dysfunction (TMD). Many of these problems can be easily diagnosed by your Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon. Since some types of TMJ problems can lead to more serious conditions, early detection and treatment is important.

Myofacial Pain Disorder (MPD)

When the nerve that is connected to the muscle becomes irritated small nodules or contractures form causing the muscle to become painful. These contractures are called trigger points. Trigger points will often refer pain in distant locations. For example it is very common for jaw muscles with myofacial pain to refer pain into the teeth or ears. In addition to pain, muscles with myofacial pain also fatigue more easily and have decreased strength and range of motion. Myofacial pain within the jaw muscles can also be associated with many other symptoms such as dizziness, ringing in the ears, eye twitching, sweating, nausea, and tearing. Tension headaches in the temples are usually the result of myofacial pain within the temporalis muscle, which is a jaw closing muscle. Myofacial pain may also trigger other headaches such as migraines. The cause of myofacial pain is over-stimulation of the nerve connected to the muscle. This can occur when the muscle is either, chronically strained such as in teeth clenching, teeth grinding, poor "oral posture", or through an acute trauma. Additionally, nerve or joint dysfunction can set off Myofacial pain. Other factors that effect myofacial pain are poor sleep, nutrition, and emotions ­ especially stress. The treatments for Myofacial Pain include:

Phase One Treatment:

1. Decreasing any aggravating factors such as teeth clenching and grinding
2. Stress relief
3. Soft diet
4. Warm heat compresses
5. Muscle massage and jaw exercises
6. Occlusal splints
7. Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory medications (Motrin, Advil, Ibuprofen)

1. Continuation of Phase One Treatment
2. Decreasing aggravating factors such as clenching and grinding
3. Stress relief
4. Sleep aid medication
5. Muscle relaxation medications
6. Physical therapy, relaxation therapy, psychotherapy