Baton Rouge Dentist

How Do I know if I Have TMD?

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Do I have TMD? When I eat, my jaw cracks, pops and it hurts. Today, I attempted to eat and opened my jaw and it felt locked. At this moment, I can only fit a couple fingers in my mouth and my jaw seems to pop out of place. What is going on?
– Andrew from Louisiana

Dear Andrew,

Based on what you’ve mentioned, it sounds like you may be suffering from Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction (TMD) and lock jaw. Research indicates this type of disorder is often caused by stress and this occurs when a person grinds or clenches their teeth while sleeping; this is a way to alleviate pent-up anxiety. Of course clenching may also occur when a person is awake as well.

The act of clenching and grinding may cause clicking and popping and make your teeth hurt. All of this may also cause gum recession and bone loss around the teeth.

People often experience TMD problems when their teeth due to the fact that their teeth are not properly aligned. When this is the case, orthodontics is needed to correct jaw joint issues.

If you’re not suffering from bad tooth alignment, your dentist will probably recommend a night guard for you to wear at night when you sleep. This will prevent you from clenching and grinding and will alleviate your symptoms of cracking and popping. This will also keep you from suffering tooth pain or bone loss.

Clues that you may be grinding or clenching:
■Morning headaches
■Sore cheeks
■Jaw joint pain
■Tooth pain
■Tooth wear
■Ab fraction Lesions (tooth enamel wearing off side of tooth next to gums causing sensitivity)

If you’re suffering from tooth pain or lock jaw, use heat and ice packs on your jaw joints several times a day for 10-15 minutes at a time. This will alleviate swelling around your joints. Lock jaw may last several weeks.

We recommend you book an appointment and see a dentist for an evaluation on your condition. They will be able to rule out whether you’re suffering from Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction and will know how to help you.

This blog brought to you by Dr. Ryan Perry, Baton Rouge Family Dentist.

What is lock jaw?

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Since I was 13 years old (I’m 16 now), I have been suffering from TMJ. I first experienced a lock jaw about three years ago. It never locked much but just some reciprocal clicking. The other day, my jaw was hurting so much and the clicking was unbearable so I got the idea to use my football mouth guard to keep me from clenching. I wore that for a while but when I took out the mouth guard, my jaw had locked up. I went to my dentist and they did an impression of my teeth and I’ll have my splint by the weekend.
My articular disc is displaced and now my jaw has been locked open for the past two days. To get through this, I’ve been wearing a mouth guard and taking Ibuprofen.
I’m tired of this and wondering if there’s anything I can do for my locked jaw? Can I get it unstuck or will the mouth guard realign my jaw and eventually un-stick it? What can I expect? What should I do?
– Krista in Louisiana

 

Dear Krista,

 

When dental patients have an open lock jaw, this is due to the condyle being unable to slip back over the disc into its normal position. The condyle is the head of the mandible (lower jaw) and the articular disk that separates the condyle and the skull.  Your temporomandibular joint dysfunction is being caused by the displacement of the disk. Lock jaw may last from several days to several weeks.
The most common type of treatment for this condition is nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications and muscle relaxants as well as a soft diet to rest the jaw joints. Heat or ice packs placed a few times a day for 10 to 15 minutes on the side of the jaw joints also helps to reduce inflammation. If these treatments don’t work, a splint is recommended to reposition the condyle into a proper position in relation to the disc. Popping, clicking, and pain may still be present but may be greatly reduced. If the splint is unsuccessful in reducing your symptoms, an arthoscopic or open surgical repair is recommended to remove adhesions and reposition the disc for proper functioning.

 

How to reduce temporomandibular joint dysfunction:

 

 
■Use relaxation techniques like yoga or meditation to reduce stress
■Avoid chewing gum
■Eat soft foods and avoid chewy and sticky foods
■Minimize wide yawns
■Avoid grinding or clenching your teeth in the daytime
■You may need to wear a splint at night as most grinding and clenching is done during deep sleep, however after symptoms disappear discontinue use of the splint as long time wear may cause complications with your bite
■Orthodontics may be needed to correct the alignment of the teeth which can be the main cause of the joint dysfunction
We recommend you see a dentist that specializes in TMJ as not all dentists are fully trained in this area
 

How Should My Dental Crowns Come Together?

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I’m 53 years old, and had six crowns placed a few years ago. Two weeks ago, I had a new dentist fit a porcelain and gold crown to my upper rear right adjacent molars. These are the permanent crowns and aren’t temporaries. These new crowns are at least one mm or more away from touching the opposing lower teeth (these are crowned). I discovered that crowns should slightly touch opposing teeth. I need to have another crown placed on the other side of my mouth and need to know if my dentist made a mistake.
– Doug from Louisiana

Doug,

You’re correct that dental crowns should touch their opposing teeth. If they are created properly, there are other important considerations. It’s important where the crowns touch and this is also called “occlusion.”

Proper jaw function depends on how your upper and lower teeth meet. When your jaw is aligned properly, you should be able to clench your jaw together and have your teeth meet at the same time. You should also be able to grind your teeth to the side and have only your canine teeth touch. This is important because these teeth have sturdy, long roots that help with sideway stress.

Another consideration is called “group function.” This is when all the posterior teeth have the same slope and when you grind your teeth to the side, they all touch evenly.

You have probably had the bite strip procedure done at the dentist. This is where the bite is checked with a thin strip of plastic between your teeth. No matter where it’s placed on your back teeth, you should be able to clench your teeth together and keep the strip from being pulled from your teeth.

If you have back teeth that don’t come together all the way, this may cause a problem because over time, they may drift together and then touch. While this may seem to work, there’s a strong chance they won’t touch correctly and will eventually throw your bite out of alignment. When this happens, you may suffer from TMJ disorder and this has to be dealt with right away as it can lead to other serious issues.

This blog sponsored by Baton Rouge Family Dentist, Dr. Ryan P. Perry

Why does my jaw make a grinding sound when I open my mouth?

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When I open my mouth wide I here like a grinding sound, almost like sand between rocks. I used to get really bad lockjaw and if I chew gum it bothers me. I have some pain and the grinding is annoying. It also feels almost like my jaw is somewhat dislocated. Its grinding is mostly on the right side. Anyone have any idea what this might be and if so any recommendations on what I can do? I’ve been dealing with this for years and just hoped it would go away with time.

Emily

Dear Emily,

It sounds like you may have a condition known as Temporomandibular Disorder also called TMJ or TMD. When the tissue gets damaged around the jaw joints, a grinding sound can be heard when opening and closing the jaw, this is known as Crepitius. The disorder is most commonly caused by abnormal structure of the cranium and lower jaw. A poor bite can also affect your jaw joints, however other factors like stress, grinding or clenching of the teeth aggravate the joints even further adding pain. To help ease pain do not chew gum, try not to clench your teeth, use moist heat on joints for 20 minutes a day, as well as exercising the joints by opening your mouth as wide as you can, hold for 10 seconds and repeat this about 10 times once a day before going to bed.

There is no such thing as a TMJ specialist, therefore it is highly recommended that you see a dentist that has extra training and continuing education in TMJ Disorder. If you do have TMJ, most likely the dentist will make you a mouth appliance to wear to prevent further damage from happening to the joints and ease the pain. The longer you postpone not treating this disorder the more damage is done to the jaw joints.  We hope this helps.

This blog post created for Baton Rouge dentist Dr. Perry.

TMJ Disorder—Serious Case

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I hope you can help me. I’ve been fooled too many times, and really just need some good information. I thought I would right in and ask you, since you have nothing to gain by lying to me like my dentist did.

I just turned 30, but I’ve had porcelain crowns on all my teeth for more than 10 years. I have a severe teeth grinding habit. Because the original crowns were not properly placed, I have worn those down, too, and now have a lot of pain and clicking when I chew or move my jaw. The last dentist I trusted (she retired) said that I have an upper and lower slant which makes my jaws crooked and a posterior crossbite. Beyond all of the more serious physical issues, they are ugly. That might sound silly, but I am only 3o! They look terrible, and it really impacts how I feel about myself.

I went to see a dentist who billed himself as a “neuromuscular dentist”. He had me in a device for two years. Things have shifted around, but nothing is better! Now I get headaches every single blessed day. I don’t know who to turn to next. Should I see a prosthodontist? A cosmetic dentist? I just know that I can find someone who can make my teeth function properly AND look good, but I need to know where to look. Can you help?

Thanks so much.

Ava in Topeka, KS

Dear Ava,

You actually were smart to work with a neuromuscular dentist. The problem might have been that the dentist you worked with SAID they were a neuromuscular dentist, but did not have the proper training to ethically make such a claim. As you may have discovered, neuromuscular dentistry is not a legally recognized specialty. Like cosmetic dentistry, any professional can claim to provide those services without any specialized training at all.

You need to look for a dentist in your area that specializes in TMJ treatment, and preferably one that also has cosmetic dentistry training, too. Look for a dentist that has received training at an institute like the Las Vegas Institute for Advanced Dental Studies, which is one of the leading facilities for training dentists in treating TMJ disorders. A dentist that has had the kind of training you are looking for won’t be shy about displaying those credentials.

This post brought to you courtesy of Baton Rouge dentist Dr. Perry.