| TMD (temporomandibular joint disorder) is a condition in | | | | The pain and muscle tightness associated with TMD |
| which your bite is misaligned, causing many serious and | | | | can even affect your hands and fingers. |
| often painful health problems. Often times, you will see | | | | Other TMD Symptoms |
| TMD referred to as TMJ, which actually stands for | | | | The pain associated with TMD varies and may be |
| Temporomandibular Joint. What can be confusing is | | | | sharp and searing or dull and constant. Pain is typically |
| that these acronyms are used interchangeably even | | | | over the joint immediately in front of the ear but can |
| though TMJ refers to the joint itself while TMD refers | | | | radiate elsewhere and cause spasms in the muscles |
| to the painful condition of a combination of symptoms | | | | attached to the bones of the skull, face and jaws. |
| that are related to problems with your jaw joint. | | | | Some of the most notable symptoms of TMD are: |
| Why Does my Head Hurt? | | | | • Limited jaw movement |
| One of the most painful and debilitating symptoms of | | | | • Locking, clicking, and popping of the jaw |
| TMD is a headache that many compare to a migraine. | | | | • Tingling or numbness in the fingers |
| Many physicians, even neurologists, have not received | | | | • Difficulty swallowing |
| the dental training required to diagnose TMJ | | | | • Insomnia |
| (Temporomandibular Joint) problems and how they | | | | • Headaches |
| relate to your migraines. Neuromuscular dentistry is the | | | | • Stiff or tight jaw muscles |
| branch of dentistry that helps people correct the jaw | | | | • Ear problems, including ringing and pressure |
| problems that have caused them pain for years, | | | | • Neck, shoulder, and back pain |
| possibly even decades. | | | | TMD patients often go to the general doctors for |
| TMD causes such painful headaches and other | | | | severe headache and are given medications to treat |
| symtpoms because the trigeminal nerve is one of the | | | | the pain of the headache; however, there is often no |
| most powerful and complex nerves in the human | | | | treatment provided for what is actually causing the |
| body. This nerve is completely responsible for the | | | | headaches. Neuromuscular dentistry is the specialized |
| temporomandibular joint and tooth functions and | | | | area of dentistry that treats the cause, not just the |
| accounts for over 40% of the brain’s processing. | | | | symptoms, of the painful headaches associated with a |
| The trigeminal nerve has three branches, all affecting | | | | misaligned jaw. |
| various parts of the face, head, shoulders and arms. | | | | |