TMD/TMJ Questions

Northern Virginia, including Arlington, Tysons Corner, Alexandria, Fairfax, and McLean, Virginia Neuromuscular Dentistry

What is TMD?

Temporomandibular joint disorder (TMD) is a common disorder in the joint of your jaw (TMJ) that can result in severe pain and interfere with its basic function. Your jaw’s ability to move in various directions allows you to chew, talk, and make facial expressions. TMD negatively impacts all of these functions. TMD, also referred to as TMJ, can be diagnosed by our experienced neuromuscular dentists at Galleria Dental Aesthetics, serving Northern Virginia.

What are the symptoms of TMD?

TMD can be identified through a number of symptoms. Some of these symptoms, like toothaches, migraine-like headaches, neck aches, or dizziness are not unique to TMD. Others tend to point more directly to TMD. Most commonly, these symptoms include:

• Popping, clicking, or grinding noises in the jaw when opening and closing your mouth. In many cases, these noises are accompanied by pain. Additionally, they are often audible to others, making social interaction uncomfortable.
• Pain in and around the TMJ, in the face, or in or around your ears when you open your mouth. This pain may happen each time you open your mouth, or seem more specific to one particular function, like eating or talking.
• Limited jaw movement. This symptom may manifest as only slightly diminished movement or a completely locked jaw.
• Difficulty chewing and an uncomfortable bite, as if your upper and lower teeth are no longer aligning in the appropriate fashion.
• Swelling or tenderness in the face and/or around the jaw.

How common is TMD?

It is estimated that nine million people suffer from the effects of TMD. Many are misdiagnosed with migraine headaches or not diagnosed at all, so the number may be much higher. TMD is more common in women than in men.

How is TMD treated?

To treat TMD, the optimal positioning of your jaw must first be determined. At Galleria Dental Aesthetics, we use either a TENS unit, to manually determine the correct positioning of your jaw, or a Mytronics K7, to create a three dimensional image of your jaw’s ideal alignment.

Once the correct position of your jaw has been determined, we will customize your treatment options using the latest dental restoration techniques most suited to your individual needs. This allows us to raise and lower the jaw in specifically targeted areas within a few short weeks as opposed to the months and even years some other forms of treatment may require.

If you live in the Arlington, Tysons Corner, or McLean, Virginia area and feel you may suffer from TMJ/TMD, please contact our neuromuscular dentists at Galleria Dental Aesthetics, located in Tysons Corner, today and schedule your neuromuscular dentistry appointment at our state-of-the-art dental practice.