When it comes to one lady six years ago, she found herself in a hospital emergency room, her limbs had gone numb, and she had pain in her left eye and right ear. She spent much of the next two years in pain because the doctors were not able to find anything wrong. When it comes to this, appointments were made with a physical therapist, her family doctor, a neurologist, a dentist, and an osteopath.
What she eventually learned was that she had something called temporomandibular joint syndrome. Until she got to try acupuncture, nothing relieved the pain. Forty million people, or one in every four, suffer from some level of TMJ disorder. Most of these people fail to recognize that the aches and pains they experience can be traced to a problem with their jaw and so they visit a number of doctors.
Considering the symptoms for a TMJ disorder, these are pain behind the eyes, dizziness, a clicking or popping jaw, headaches, back and neck pain, numbness in the fingers and arms, ear aches and ringing in the ears, and sensitive teeth. In terms of a TMJ disorder, some of the causes include problems with the temporomandibular joint or the muscles that move the jaw, injury to the jaw and neck area, and grinding and clenching your teeth. Aside from affecting men, women between the ages of 30 and 50 are affected more.
The sooner a TMJ problem is diagnosed and treated, the better. Having a good, longterm outcome is a matter of how early you can intervene. According to the people who have suffered from TMJ disorder and experts, treatment doesn’t always mean merely getting rid of the problem. In this case, the extent of the problem and the philosophy of your dentist are both considered in treating a TMJ disorder.
They believe that if you solve psychological issues, such as excessive stress, you’ll get rid of the physical problems. There are people who believe that psychological issues, like depression and stress, lead to physical problems with the bite or jaw.
And yet another school of thought believes TMJ can be the result of both psychological and physical issues. For a person with TMJ like symptoms, he should not assume that he has the disorder. In this case, similar symptoms can be seen from other medical problems.
If the problem is TMJ, don’t expect an instant cure. In this case, TMJ can involve different health professionals, dentists, physical therapists, neurologists, chiropractors, and people who specialize in biofeedback. The lady patient mentioned earlier did find some relief when she visited an osteopath who worked on her jaw but that relief didn’t last very long.
By working with an acupuncturist for about a year, she found a kind of relief that she could live with. Nowadays, for six months or so at a time, she has no worries. Here, she became successful as she taught herself a couple of tricks to keep the pain at bay.
Today, she gets acupuncture a few times a year. With TMJ, there is no cure but she learned how to manage it. When it comes to this, she does not get severe symptoms but she works hard to manage her stress level. When it comes to this, she swears by yoga, an exercise that helps her relax, and relaxes her jaw.
You’ll learn more about dentistry when you check out tmj treatment. More tips, advice and news on dentistry can be found at clear braces.