Nolan River Dental Center Dentist Cleburne Texas

If you haven’t visited a TMJ dentist for your jaw pain, perhaps you should. It is common for people to suffer from discomfort in their jaw or face and at times the discomfort can extend to headaches and even neck pain. By and large, people tend to disregard these symptoms due to a lack of understanding regarding what could be causing them.

As the symptoms progress to the point of severe jaw pain, people begin to realize that the problem is more serious than initially thought. In fact, it can become so severe that people have difficulty even opening their mouth or eating. If you are in the early stages of this where your only complaint is discomfort, you need to visit the dentist so that we can help to prevent the problem from escalating.

Signs that you need a TMJ dentist.

There are several signs to watch for that indicate an individual needs to schedule an appointment. The first sign is waking up with a sore jaw or face. Additionally, if the individual has headaches on a regular basis, this could be connected to the jaw. If one feels sore or uncomfortable while eating or cannot open the mouth all the way without feeling a twinge in the jaw, then he or she needs to call us immediately. These are all signs that one may have TMJ and, fortunately, we can treat it.

What a TMJ dentist can do for you.

Very often, TMJ is due to grinding or clenching the teeth at night. While not always the case, this is a common cause for the condition and it is also easy to treat. We can prevent the symptoms of TMJ by giving a patient a night guard to wear. We begin by making an impression of the patient’s mouth so that the lab can create a night guard in the perfect size and shape. This step is important for ensuring that it remains in place while the patient sleeps without being uncomfortable.

The guard will surround the teeth like a full retainer would and is made out of a durable, yet comfortable, plastic. The key difference between this and a standard retainer is that it prevents the upper and lower teeth from touching, grinding, or clenching. This way, the jaw has to relax. Since this eliminates the stress and tension placed on the temporomandibular joint, the patient will wake up without a headache or general soreness.

Not only will patients see an immediate benefit, but the condition will not be allowed to progress. This is critical for ensuring that patients do not wake up one day without the ability to open the mouth fully.

While this solution is fairly simplistic, it works incredibly well. If you have TMJ or think that you might, we highly recommend that you schedule a consultation with TMJ dentist office so that we can examine you and provide you with this non-invasive solution. Some doctors recommend taking more drastic action like undergoing surgery, but this can lead to complications and further issues. Our solution has no risk or side effects so call Nolan River Dental Center today.