So you have jaw pain... Now what?

Does your face, jaw, or head ever ache?

Do you grind or clench your teeth?

Does your jaw click upon opening or closing?

Does your jaw ever feel stiff, tight, or tired?​

Do you have difficulty opening your mouth wide?

You might be experiencing temporomandibular dysfunction!!!

This can happen to anyone with a mouth. That’s right, children, teens, adults, and seniors!

The temporomanidublar joint (TMJ) is your jaw joint, located just in front of your ear. Disorders of the TMJ involve the muscles of mastication (chewing muscles) and associated structures and tissues of the face, head, and neck.

TMJ disorders are relatively common with a prevalence of 22-59%!

Symptoms include clicking, irregular jaw motion, headaches, and pain around the ear, jaw, face, head, and upper neck. Additionally, grinding and clenching the jaw stimulates the release of cytokines, chemicals in the body that promote inflammation and pain. This pain may be referred to cranial structures and ultimately is experienced as facial pain and headache.

TMJ disorders are effectively treated with manual therapy including, but not limited to joint manipulation/mobilization, soft tissue therapy, intra- and extra-oral vibration therapy, and laser therapy.

Manual therapy of the TMJ and surrounding tissues may also help with dental procedure and surgery preparation (fillings, root canals, wisdom tooth extraction, etc.) as well as post-surgical rehabilitation.

If you experience any of the above symptoms or have a dental procedure/surgery coming up, come in to see us! We are happy to help you get out of pain, get your jaw moving how it should, and make your dental experience and rehab easier and less painful.