Let’s Celebrate TMJ Awareness Month!
With Thanksgiving, November is the month that seems to kick off the holiday season. Aside from this popular holiday, there is another occasion this month that we want to share information about: TMJ Awareness Month. This month is dedicated to helping people learn more about TMJ and TMD. If you are unfamiliar, TMJ stands for the temporomandibular joint, which is the ball and socket joint that attaches the lower jaw to the base of the skull. If you place your fingers on the back of your jaw near your ear and open your mouth, you can feel the temporomandibular joint move. You may also hear the term TMD, which refers to temporomandibular joint disorder. People often use TMJ and TMD interchangeably to refer to the same condition.
There are approximately 10 million people in America who suffer from some form of TMD. This is only a small portion of the people who are actually experiencing this condition, because so many people remain undiagnosed. A number of the symptoms of TMD are the same as other medical conditions. Unfortunately, because of this, people may visit the wrong medical professional to treat the symptoms they are experiencing. It is not uncommon for patients to become frustrated when the treatment their doctor has recommended fails to help. Furthermore, the longer a patient goes without a proper diagnosis and does not receive treatment, the more their condition will continue to decline.
TMJ-Related Symptoms
If you suffer from any of the following symptoms, we encourage you to visit our office to see if you have TMD:
- Jaw pain and discomfort
- Face, back, or neck pain
- Frequent headaches
- Earache or ringing in the ears
- Lockjaw
- Clicking or popping of the jaw
We can help our patients with a diagnosis and also create a treatment plan to relieve symptoms. If you think you or a loved one may be experiencing symptoms related to TMD, be sure to contact our office in Kaufman, TX to schedule an appointment. We want to help you get the relief you deserve.
