TMJ Treatment For Jaw Pain In Ellicott City

Do you have pain right in front of your ear near the joint for your jawbone? You might benefit from our comprehensive Ellicott City TMJ treatment program.

In this article, we are going to look at some information about jaw pain, how to get a diagnosis for TMJ pain specifically, and what TMJ treatment might entail. If you would rather simply get a professional opinion right away, please call Ellicott City Dentistry at 410-465-3021 to get the first available appointment.

"TMJ" is short for "temporomandibular joint". TMJ disorders are problems with this joint that usually result in facial pain, jaw pain, tooth pain, upper back aches, shoulder aches, headaches, or earaches. Aside from pain, you might also experience some trouble opening your mouth all the way or chewing.

As you can see, there is quite a range of symptoms. In fact, this is just a selection of the most common issues. TMJ disorder can affect different people in different ways.

If you are experiencing any of the problems we mentioned above, and if you're in the western Baltimore Metro area, we invite you to come in and let us take a look at the issue. We can typically identify TMJ problems very quickly and suggest minimally invasive symptom control on the spot.

What we would not recommend is attempting to self-diagnose this particular issue. That's especially true if your symptoms include tooth pain, earaches, or jaw pain, as these could be indicators of other types of dental health issues.

Finally, stress and anxiety are thought to aggravate TMJ pain. Please come into our Ellicott City office for a consultation and let us put your mind at ease.

The TMJ treatment options we offer in our dental office in Ellicott City will be entirely based on your unique situation. There are many different factors that could contribute to this type of pain, and the treatment we suggest will be intended to address the underlying cause of your pain as well as the symptom itself.

In general, we prefer to use less invasive options before exploring more involved or expensive treatments. For example, isolated episodes of TMJ pain can often be controlled by over-the-counter painkillers, temperature therapy, and some minor changes in dietary or expressive habits (such as choosing softer foods or avoiding extreme movements of the joint, like yawning).

The next step usually includes using generic sports guards and night guards while sleeping. We also have trusted partners here in Ellicott City who can provide massage therapy that has helped many of our patients. If we believe your case could benefit from this, we will happily provide a referral.

The temporomandibular joint is resilient, so sticking with mild treatment and letting damage heal itself usually results in a complete recovery. If you are still having pain after following all of our non-invasive recommendations, we will advance your treatment as necessary until you are feeling back as close as possible to 100 percent again.