Do experience pain in your jaw? Does it hurt when you open and close it, or just seem sore all the time? Do you feel aches and soreness that seem to penetrate to the bone in your jaw? If so, we may know the cause, especially if you have other symptoms like recurring headaches and neck pain.
This can be a hard ailment to diagnose. If you have talked to your doctor about your symptoms, but haven’t gotten relief, we may be able to help. Please call (803) 781-9090 or email Smile Columbia Dentistry in Columbia, SC today to talk to us about your symptoms.
TMJ and Jaw Pain
TMJ, or TMD, is when you experience dysfunction in the joints on either side of your jaw, where they meet with the skull, called the temporomandibular joints. This can cause many types of jaw pain, including:
- Soreness in the muscles
- Pain in the joint itself (may be accompanied by clicking, popping, or sticking of the joint)
- Soreness in teeth
- Soreness in the bone
- Pain from pinched nerve—a sharp, sudden stabbing pain
The diverse types of pain come from the complexity of the mouth joint system. An imbalance in the joint may make the muscles strain against the hard tissues of the teeth and jaw. The joint itself may have a degraded or displaced disc, and the bones may grind painfully. The pressure from a poorly fitting bite may lead to soreness in the teeth and bone, which may be constant, or may come and go with episodes of teeth grinding. This may also result in pinched nerves that can result in sharp pain or its opposite—numbness.
Jaw Pain and Other Symptoms
The type of jaw pain you experience may be linked to other symptoms you experience. For example, sore muscles may be linked to recurring tension headaches and neck and upper back pain. Pinched nerve pain may be associated with ringing in the ears or migraine headaches. Soreness in your teeth and jaw bone may be associated with worn and broken teeth.
During your consultation, we encourage you to talk about all your symptoms to make sure you get an accurate diagnosis and treatment that gives you full relief.
Visit An Experienced TMJ Dentist in Columbia, SC
Dr. Adam Hahn has received extensive training on the diagnosis and treatment of TMJ and have helped people in Columbia to get relief from their symptoms, and we would like to help you.
Don’t live with jaw pain. Please call (803) 781-9090 or contact Smile Columbia Dentistry in Columbia, SC for an appointment.
