TMD, or temporomandibular disorder, leads to facial pain, which can be very annoying at times. It can even become worse when it starts affecting your oral health, leading to various dental issues such as jaw disorders, teeth bite issues, and other such problems. So, it becomes essential for you to get the proper treatment for your TMD issues.
In this article, we will understand the main causes of TMD issues and how they affect oral health. You can gain more detailed information about TMD if you consult an expert dentist, such as Dexter Dental Clinic. Dental experts can tell you more about TMD and how you can solve it. Meanwhile, let’s begin our discussion about how TMD affects oral health.
What is TMD?
TMD is a temporomandibular disorder which is commonly known as TMJ. However, there is a difference between TMJ and TMD, where the first refers to the issue merely in joints and the latter talks about the disorder. Temporomandibular joints connect the lower joints to the skull, and it allows us to chew, move our facial muscles, swallow, talk, yawn, and do other such activities with our mouths.
However, TMD is a situation in which people face a lot of issues and pain while conducting their everyday activities. It can also lead to various other effects on your jaw bones. This pain leads to myofascial pain that occurs in the jaw, neck and shoulders. There is internal dislocation of the jaw, which makes it difficult to move. It also leads to degenerative joint disease, such as arthritis in the jaw joints.
What are the Causes of TMD Issues?
As per research, the causes of TMD are not clear. Many people face the problem of TMD and feel its symptoms because of having severe strain on their jaw joints and muscles around the face while chewing and talking. This flexibility issue is mainly caused by bruxism, in which you clench or grind your teeth habitually. This habit is primarily developed while sleeping when you are unaware of your surrounding conditions. However, it is not limited to sleep; it can also happen when you are awake. Some of the other causes of TMD can be due to injuries to the head, neck, and jaw.
What are Some of the Significant Signs and Symptoms of TMD?
When we talk about TMD, the signs and symptoms can be very clearly visible. There would be jaw discomfort, soreness, headaches, earaches, pain behind the eyes, back, and neck, clicking and popping of the jaw, jaw lock, sensitivity of teeth, limited mouth motions, clenching and grinding, and other such symptoms. It will be transparent with these symptoms that someone is suffering from a TMD issue.
How Does TMD Affect Your Oral Health?
TMD is an issue that can affect your other body parts, especially your oral health. One of the main issues that TMD causes to your oral health is that you face problems in your overall bite. It is because when a person clenches or grinds their teeth strongly, then their teeth become worn down, which creates issues while eating and chewing.
There are various issues, such as jaw pain, which is also a very significant pain. Apart from this, when the teeth wear down, the enamel starts to go away, leading to exposure of dentin and thus creating more problems in the teeth. It increases the risk of teeth sensitivity, tooth decay and tooth loss. It is also at more risk of fracture and loosening of teeth. Therefore, you need to consult an expert doctor to get rid of the TMD issue and secure your oral health.
