Dentistry >>>> Jaw joint hurts

Jaw joint hurts.

Pain in the temporomandibular joint occurs no less often than in the joints of the limbs, but unlike other articular joints, pain in the jaw joint is often masked as a headache in the temple area, pain in the ear or pain in the jaw, which misleads a person and interferes with the correct diagnosis.

Why does the jaw joint hurt? There are more than enough reasons for the disease of the temporomandibular joint.

This is a complication of jaw periostitis, when the process extends to the bone structures of the articular joints.

These are infectious diseases when pain in the jaw joint develops as a complication.

This is an inflammation of the articular joint of the jaw as a result of a cold or injury to this area of the head.

This is the result of a decrease in the height of the bite with the loss of teeth - antagonists, by their closing, hold a certain height between the jaws.

These are endocrine diseases that affect the general condition of the body and provoke the development of arthrosis of all joints, including the temporomandibular.

Signs of jaw joint disease can develop gradually, starting to appear:

in the wrong path of movement of the lower jaw, when a person notices that the amplitude of movement of the joint increases against the will of the person himself, it seems that the joint has become unnecessarily mobile and moves the jaw to unusual positions;
in sensations of tension in the area of the jaw joint when chewing and talking;
in sensations of blockage of the jaw at the time of opening or closing the mouth;
in the feeling of grinding, squeaking, clicks when moving the lower jaw;
in sensations of ear congestion, aches in the ear, pain in the ear when moving in the joint;
sometimes the disease in the joint mimics the pain in the cervical region adjacent to the lower jaw;
in visually noticeable distortions of the mouth opening when opening the mouth, while the person has the feeling that the articular head is moving away from its place of fixation;
in problems with wide opening of the mouth, when a person has a feeling that the articular head leaves the articular bed, which causes a person's fears about the imminent impossibility of closing the mouth.

If at least some of these conditions occur in the area of the temporomandibular joint and cause pain, it is necessary to think about the examination and elimination of the problems that have arisen.

Despite the fact that the temporomandibular joint is the most resilient joint and can withstand loads that can only be compared with the loads that the joints experience when lifting a weight of 100 kg, which is physically impossible for all other articular joints of the human body. That problems in the temporomandibular joint usually do not develop for no reason, which means that timely treatment is required to eliminate discomfort in the jaw joint and restore its full functions.

If the jaw joint hurts - how to treat? Depending on what exactly causes pain in the jaw joint, the approaches to treating problems in the temporomandibular joint area differ:

If the cause of the pain in the joint was a change in the height of the bite, and this can happen in two cases: with the loss of a large number of antagonizing teeth or with improper prosthetics with dentures, when the natural height of the bite is artificially increased, the treatment is carried out by prosthetics of the dentition taking into account the change in the height of the bite, comfortable for the work of the temporomandibular joint.

Diseases of an inflammatory nature, ankylosis or arthrosis of the joint, are treated with prosthetic methods, but already the joint itself, and not the dentition. Such surgical interventions for the purpose of prosthetics are carried out in cases of ineffective symptomatic treatment and the impossibility of returning the joint to its former mobility. The operation of arthroscopy (restoration of the mobility of the articular ligaments and muscle fibers) is an extreme measure, which is resorted to only in cases when the immediate or current prognosis of the disease of the jaw joint is its immobilization.

Often, injuries to the joint itself and the bones that form it cause pain in the jaw joint. In these cases, the bone structures of the joint are splinted, and a guiding apparatus is installed in the oral cavity, which will control the work of the joint: the intermaxillary height and the trajectory of movement of the joint.

In addition to drug therapy aimed at relieving the inflammatory process in the tissues of the articular joint, relaxing the facial muscles and muscles that move the lower jaw to relieve the load on the joint, the patient himself must follow a diet that includes soft and semi-liquid foods that do not require strenuous chewing. In the absence of purulent processes in the area of inflammation of the jaw joint, the doctor prescribes warm compresses on the TMJ area, recommends limiting the opening of the mouth for the period of treatment, use not a spoon, but a wide straw for eating soups, use a cocktail straw for drinking liquids, limit conversations (movements of the lower jaw), do not open your mouth wide while yawning.

The jaw joint is treated by a doctor - gnathologist or dentist specializing in gnathology or maxillofacial surgery.