What are TMJ Causes?

The inflammation of the connection of the mandible to the skull is known as temporomandibular joint disorder, TMJD or just TMJ.  This simply means a disorder in the chewing muscles and the jaw where headaches, earaches, facial pain, jaw muscle tenderness are felt.  In more detail, the headaches or dizziness that TMJ causes may make the person suffering TMJ nauseous.

The earaches might be accompanied with ringing of the ears and in severe cases, hearing loss.  The pain experienced in the face in TMJ can also radiate to the neck and shoulders where the joints can be overextended.  The jaw can even lock so it can’t open or can even lock while the jaw is open.

Muscle spasms that are the effect of TMJ may make the person with this disorder have a difficult time swallowing.   Clicking and popping sounds may be heard and there is pain in either chewing, talking or yawning.  TMJ leaves much to be desired.

If any of these symptoms are experienced, one must go and visit their dentist.  They can determine if the symptoms are temporomandibular joint disorder by conducting a series of diagnostic tests.    These tests may include firstly, a complete medical history, a clinical examination, and then taking of x-rays and casts of the teeth.  Second opinions may be taken from other doctors or dentists in order to make sure that it really is TMJD.

There are a number of things that cause TMJ and they can be interrelated.  These are mainly, trauma or injury, bad habits in chewing, the clenching or grinding of the teeth, disease, or cartilage wear and tear.   Injury can be divided into two kinds, microtrauma and macrotrauma.  Microtrauma is when clenching or grinding of the teeth changes the alignment of the teeth.  This makes the membranes surrounding the TMJ swell.  In macrotrauma, the jawbone can be damaged with a strong blow like a punch.

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For bad habits in chewing like clenching or grinding, these habits can cause strain on the TMJ.  These habits include chewing gum or pens, crunching on hard candy, and even putting too much food in the mouth during eating.  It puts a burden and stress on the TMJ and thus resulting in muscle spasms and inflammatory reactions.   This extreme pressure can cause the wear and tear of cartilage discs and also damaged or broken teeth.  Diseases like arthritis or osteoarthritis can cause TMJ.

The former causes inflammation of the joints and as it progresses, can lead to destruction of the cartilage while the latter, breaks down the joint due to normal aging which also leads to swelling of the TMJ and other adjoining muscles and ligaments.  Other inflammatory diseases can also lead to TMJ.

One can have just the bad habit of chewing on hard candy which causes stress on the TMJ.  The grinding of the teeth while sleeping puts a lot of pressure on the TMJ.  That same person gets into a fight where he gets punched on the jaw.  The jaw becomes dislocated and there is a misaligned bite.  If unchecked, as old age comes, rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis increase the stress on the TMJ.  The TMJ becomes inflamed and there is surely TMJ.