The jaw is responsible for many complex movements, whether it’s chewing your favorite foods, speaking, yawning, or opening your mouth when it’s time for your professional routine cleaning. However, it’s not normal to be experiencing chronic discomfort in your jaw when you wake up or throughout the day. If these symptoms sound familiar, there’s a chance you may be suffering from undiagnosed TMJ disorder or TMD. Call our dental office to learn how we can help you manage your discomfort once and for all with TMJ therapy in Jacksonville, FL.
Before we can prescribe a treatment plan for your jaw pain, we must first confirm what symptoms you are experiencing and when they occur. Upon asking you a series of questions, we’ll gently examine your mouth and jaw to better understand your condition. In most cases, we’ll also capture digital X-rays of your jaw, observe its range of motion, and listen and identify areas of discomfort. From there, we’ll be able to determine the best treatment option based on your needs.
While there are many causes of TMJ disorder, including untreated bruxism, it’s also possible that your bite is uneven due to a misplaced or worn-down restoration pushing it out of equilibrium. In order to ensure harmony between your upper and lower arches, we may need to either replace old restorations or make slight modifications to your existing enamel. This ensures that your bite is no longer uneven nor applying disparate pressure to your jaw joints.
