TMJ Symptoms

Temporomandibular joint disorder (TMJ) is often overlooked or misdiagnosed because most people are not familiar with the symptoms. Most TMJ symptoms do not intuitively suggest a dental problem.

Serving patients in Omaha and Lincoln, Nebraska areas, Dr. Beninato's LVI training gives him an in-depth understanding of the symptoms those with TMJ suffer with, often for their entire lives, and can provide permanent relief. TMJ causes symptoms throughout the body including:

Headaches

TMJ causes both tension and vascular headaches, which are often misdiagnosed and ineffectively treated as headaches. The constant tension in your jaw causes muscle spasms throughout your head, neck, and shoulders, causing pain, and squeezes the blood vessels causing the vascular headaches.

TMJ Symptoms

Tooth Grinding

Constant tension and muscle spasms can cause you to grind your teeth, often in your sleep. This is not only painful, over time it damages your teeth causing chips, loose teeth, and wear.

Jaw Pain

TMJ jaw pain is often the result of constant muscle tension and muscle soreness. Sometimes, though it is a sign of serious damage to the bone. Because a misaligned bite misdirects the pressure on your teeth and bones, the bone itself can start to wear away, creating sharp points.

Clicking or Popping Jaw

When the disc of cartilage inside your jaw joint moves out of place the joint is not longer properly cushioned and begins to make audible popping noises.

Limited Jaw Movement or Locking Jaw

The clicking sound is a sign the jaw damage is occurring. Eventually your bite can be so far out of alignment that your mouth does not open and close properly.

Difficulty Swallowing

Severe muscle tension in your jaw, face, and neck can make it difficult to swallow.

Shoulder, Neck, and Back Pain

Since the muscles of your jaw work together with the muscle of your neck, which in turn work with your shoulders and back, the tension and spasms can cause a chain reaction with the muscles responding to each other throughout all of these body parts. Tension, spasms, and pain in these areas can cause poor posture, which then leads to even more pain.

Numbness in Arms and Fingers

The brachial plexus is a nerve bundle that controls your arms and hands. It is located between the neck and shoulders. Spasms and constant tension in this area pinches this nerve bundle causing tingling and numbness all the way down to your fingers.

Depression

Chronic pain and sleep deprivation associated with TMJ can cause minor to severe depression. Added to those factors, TMJ sufferers often spend years in unsuccessful treatment for misdiagnosed conditions.

Relief

Correcting TMJ will stop all of these symptoms, by relieving the tension and muscle spasms. TMJ treatment begins with relaxing the muscles and stopping the spasms, then we move on to correct the alignment, making relief permanent. Learn more about relief from TMJ symptoms by reading.

If you have TMJ questions and would like more information, contact our Omaha TMJ dentist, Dr. Beninato for a consultation if you are in Omaha or Lincoln, Nebraska.