Can TMJ Affect My Health?

TMJ stands for the temporomandibular joint, of which everyone has two. These joints are located on each side of the jaw and are what connects the jawbone to the skull. When someone experiences problems in this area they may have one of many TMJ disorders. In order to find out whether or not they do have a TMJ disorder, they will need to make an appointment with an experienced dentist for a proper diagnosis. This is especially important because if jaw-related problems are not treated in a timely manner, more often than not they will continue to get worse.

A TMJ diagnosis can lead to a TMD diagnosis, aka temporomandibular joint disorder. Because TMD is a leading cause of head and neck pain, a TMD diagnosis can also easily affect one’s quality of life.

TMJ causes

While it can be difficult to understand the exact reason why someone would be experiencing TMJ problems, some of the more common reasons why someone would be suffering from TMJ include genetics, being diagnosed with arthritis or having experienced some form of jaw injury. Jaw injuries can stem from clenching or grinding one’s teeth, which can occur during the day but happens more often at night.

TMJ symptoms

Some symptoms that someone may be suffering from a TMJ disorder include feeling pain and/or tenderness in the jaw area, experiencing discomfort, hearing a popping or clicking sound when opening or closing their mouth, experiencing pain when eating and finding it difficult to open or close their mouth fully.

Can TMJ affect someone’s health?

Yes, TMJ has the ability to affect someone’s overall health. The temporomandibular joint plays a very important part in our ability to perform a variety of everyday essential actions, like talking, chewing, biting, yawning, laughing, more. When someone is experiencing TMJ related problems or has been diagnosed with TMJ, they are going to experience some degree of difficulty when performing any or all of these everyday essential actions.

Because the temporomandibular joint is connected to many other parts of the head and neck area, when someone has been diagnosed with TMJ they are likely to experience problems in other parts of their body, too. This can include their experiencing a number of health issues that are directly related to their TMJ diagnosis. Some of the more common TMJ related symptoms experienced include frequent headaches or migraines (morning time is more common), feeling dizzy, neck pain, shoulder pain, back pain and tinnitus.

Additional health problems that can stem from or are connected to a TMJ diagnosis include chronic fatigue syndrome, irritable bowel syndrome, fibromyalgia, sinusitis, depression and not sleeping well. Because TMJ is a disorder that does not allow the jaw to function as it should, many people are not able to get the sleep they need due to the tongue blocking the airway. This blocking causes oxygen deprivation, waking them up constantly throughout the night.

For more information or to schedule an appointment with Bellevue Implant & Cosmetic Dentistry, request an appointment in our Bellevue dental office here: https://www.implantdentalbellevue.com. Or call us at (425) 249-9186.