What is the Temporomandibular Joint?
Where Your Smile Begins
Calgary, Alberta
The temporomandibular joint is the jaw joint. You can feel it if you place a finger in front of each ear and open and close your mouth. These joints are where the lower jaw (mandible) connects to the upper jaw (maxilla). The upper jaw is a fixed part of the skull. (If you place a finger below the ear and open the mouth you are feeling the movement of the lower jaw’s angle, not the jaw joint itself.)
If you have chronic headaches, facial pain, or any bite problems, your jaw joints may be causing them. They may be out of alignment. This is a condition known as Temporomandibular Joint Disorder. It is abbreviated as TMD or TMJ, although TMJ is also used to refer to the joint itself rather than the disorder. A neuromuscular dentist like Dr. Cload is trained and equipped to diagnose and treat TMD.
More About the Jaw Joints
The jaws are connected with a ball-and-socket joint, where the lower jaw has a round knob that fits smoothly into a concave area of the upper jaw. There is cartilage between the two bone surfaces to cushion their movement and prevent them from grinding against each other, which would be painful.
The jaw joint is the most flexible joint in the body. It has three movement directions:
- Up and down
- Sideways
- Forwards and back
It is also a rather delicate joint and a blow to the side of the head can damage it. The cartilage pad can be knocked out of its correct position, which would leave the bone surfaces in direct and painful contact. The bones could be bruised or slightly moved out of alignment. In some cases, a child receives an impact to the head that disrupts the jaw joint on one or both sides and then grows up accustomed to the symptoms, thinking they are just the way life is. At Southcentre Dental Clinic, Dr. Cload can detect any jaw joint damage very precisely and explain the cause of your symptoms.
There is a long list of potential symptoms when the jaw joint is misaligned. Most of them are uncomfortable or outright painful. Please see our page on TMJ/TMD Symptoms for more details. TMD involves more of the body than just the jaw joints and their muscles, nerves, and connective tissue. It also involves posture.
When the spinal bones are out of alignment, there is a chain of consequences which can create pain in the face, neck, and shoulders, and even the entire body. Dr. Cload is trained in body mechanics and will include a postural evaluation as well as other body assessments to place your TMD in a larger context.
Diagnosing Jaw Joint Misalignment
Many people who suffer from TMD do not realize it. TMD headaches can be very painful and may be mistaken for migraines. TMD sufferers may visit their physician for help and receive a painkiller but their relief is only temporary because pain medications do not address the dental cause of the pain. Sometimes a TMD sufferer will visit many doctors, becoming increasingly frustrated and perhaps depressed.
A qualified neuromuscular dentist can quickly diagnose your TMD with special technology to:
- Measure and record jaw muscle movement
- Measure and record jaw muscle electrical activity
- Record jaw joint sounds
Once the problem is pinpointed, effective treatment can begin and your “bad bite” can recede into the past.
Dr. Cload has LVI training in neuromuscular dentistry. The Las Vegas Institute for Advanced Dental Studies is the world’s premier post-graduate school for dentists and Dr. Cload has the knowledge and hands-on skill to correct your bite and relieve your TMD pain.
To learn more about TMD and how it can be successfully treated, please contact neuromuscular dentist Dr. Cload today for a personal consultation.
