Find Soothing Relief For Jaw Pain With Our Dentist in Pineville
At Locke Family Dentistry, we understand the difficulty jaw pain can add to your everyday life. Many patients find that pain or soreness in their jaw negatively impacts their daily lives, from sleeping soundly to speaking and eating.
Thankfully, you can relieve the pressure on your jaw and ease the pain using TMJ treatments from Dr. Virginia Locke, one of the best dentists in Pineville, LA. Explore our TMJ treatment guide below to learn more about our solutions and how they can help alleviate your jaw pain.
Explore our TMJ treatment guide below to learn more about our solutions and how they help. We welcome patients from Alexandria, Boyce, and Natchitoches, LA.
What is TMJ Disorder?
The temporomandibular joint (TMJ) is a powerful muscle that connects our lower jaws to our skulls. Additionally, it gives us the ability to move our jaw and bite down with force.
The TMJ absorbs a lot of pressure throughout the day. If your TMJ endures teeth clenching, grinding at night (bruxism), or other trauma, it can grow weak. This, in turn, can cause intense pain that only gets worse over time.
When a jaw muscle is constantly overworked and put under pressure, it never gets a chance to heal, allowing for a more serious condition to develop in the weakened TMJ muscle. This painful condition is known as temporomandibular disorder (TMD). Our Pineville, LA dentist recommends seeking treatment when jaw pain becomes too much to bear.
Symptoms of TMD
If you experience any of the following symptoms, Our dentist in Pineville, LA recommends you schedule an appointment at our office for a thorough jaw examination:
- Swollen lymph nodes
- Persistent head, neck, shoulder, or jaw pain
- Ringing in your ears
- Bruxism
- Jaw popping and clicking
- Stiffness of the jaw
- Cracked teeth
Causes of TMD
Pinpointing the exact cause of TMD can be tricky as there are a variety of factors and influences that may contribute to this disorder. Dr. Locke will work to determine the likely cause of your jaw pain in order to treat it effectively. Some common causes of TMD include, but aren’t limited to:
- Worn-down joints from teeth grinding (bruxism)
- Joint damage from an impact
- Displacement or erosion of joint’s disk
- Joint cartilage damage from arthritis
How to Heal A Weakened TMJ
You deserve to eat, sleep, and speak comfortably and painlessly. At Locke Family Dental, we provide TMJ treatments such as nightguards and mouthguards to help relieve the pressure on your jaw. Our customized oral appliances from dentist Dr. Locke help offset the pressure from your jaw, allowing your TMJ to heal.
Our Mouthguard Solutions
Mouthguards and nightguards are comfortable and subtle ways to help alleviate TMJ pain. The mouthguards have several advantageous functions, such as healing the TMJ, offsetting bruxism pressure, and protecting your teeth during sports.
Mouthguards can help reduce the causes of TMD, including:
- Misaligned jaw
- Bruxism or nighttime teeth grinding
- Bone or joint diseases like arthritis
- Jaw injuries
We’ll create your personalized oral appliance using a detailed impression of your teeth. After just a few days, you’ll have a solution that helps eliminate your pain and heal your jaw.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Are TMJ disorders serious?
The severity of TMJ disorders varies from patient to patient, but TMD can evolve into a painful chronic condition if left untreated. This can reduce the quality of your life by making simple tasks uncomfortable and difficult. No matter how serious your condition, it’s always best to seek treatment for jaw pain before it has the chance to progress into something worse.
Can TMJ disorders change the shape of your face?
Over time, TMD may alter the shape of your face. You may experience the loss of facial symmetry, misaligned teeth, or a swollen and square-looking jaw. These symptoms can be uncomfortable and embarrassing but can be easily corrected with proper TMD care from Locke Family Dental.
Can TMJ disorders go away on their own?
Neglecting symptoms of a TMJ disorder may result in chronic TMD, a painful condition that makes it difficult to speak, eat, or move your jaw. However, with proper treatment, any painful symptoms associated with TMD can be alleviated.
To avoid worsening jaw pain and discomfort, we recommend scheduling an appointment at our Pineville office at the first sign of a possible TMJ issue.