Experiencing jaw pains is stressful, but it could be even more disturbing if you don’t know the cause. Temporomandibular disorder comes with many symptoms that may be as many as the causes. It is not uncommon however as quite a number of the current population suffer from it. Although it is believed that most chronic diseases affect older people, this one is more common in young people. To understand TMD and its symptoms more, you can find more information about the possible causes of jaw pain here. Temporomandibular disorder refers to the pains in the face and jaw muscle and joints. This results in some pain when chewing, but it may also be experienced when talking.
TMD could be extremely painful, but the symptoms are a lot more manageable. The symptoms could present themselves every once in a while, or they could appear severally over some years. You could experience difficulties chewing. The primary cause of the pain when chewing is the tenderness in the muscles and joints and also the jaw pains. You could experience a locked jaw every once in a while. TMD can cause a scenario where the jaw gets stuck in a closed or open position. If you are having difficulties opening your mouth full, then it could be a symptom of TMD.
There are no absolute causes of TMD that are known to doctors since there are many things that could cause the symptoms of TMD to present themselves. The main positive is that the symptoms are mostly acute and can be controlled with ease.
TMD could occur as a result of injuries. Serious damage your neck and head muscles could cause TMD symptoms to present themselves. Direct impact on the area near the jaws could also cause a similar effect.
TMD could be caused by developing arthritis in the temporomandibular joint be it genetic or from past trauma. Rheumatoid arthritis patients experience jaw pains more predominantly. Due to this, medical professionals have concluded that the two could be related in a way. You could also be experiencing jaw pains and other TMD symptoms as a result of disc erosion. Erosion of the TMJ disc could be dangerous as it is painful since it may cause asymmetries in the jaw which causes it to shift out of its natural position.
Another possible cause of TMD is grinding and clenching your teeth or bruxism as some people may commonly refer to it. If you continuously grind on your teeth could be harmful to your teeth and create a misaligned bite.