Face pain can plague you in a variety of ways;
However your face pain presents itself, it can be agony.
TMJ affects all the muscles in the vicinity of your jaw, particularly those in your head, neck, back, shoulders and face. The joints, muscles and nerves of your neck, head communicate with each another. If a nerve in your neck (your jaw, your head) is pinched or irritated, the “hurt” can travel along that nerve and cause pain elsewhere.
It makes perfect sense then, if you suffer from TMJ, your facial muscles could be the ones to bear the brunt of the pain.
Sounds good doesn’t it. The good news is, if your facial pain is caused by TMJ, your could be in the position to quit imagining life without pain and start living it! How?
The most important aspects of successful TMJ treatment is a correct diagnosis. That’s where a Westminster dentist like All Smiles Care’s Dr. Gary Imm comes in. Trained in the principle of neuromuscular dentistry, Dr. Imm doesn’t just look at the hard tissues of your jaw area – your bones, joints and teeth. He also analyses your soft tissues – your muscles and nerves – to decode the complex relationship between these hard and soft tissues of your particular jaw.
Think of him as a relationship analyst. When your bite is unbalanced, your joints and muscles are out of harmony; they’re fighting each other. Once the cause of the fight becomes clear, treatment can help bring tranquility back to your jaw area, allowing your muscles to relax and freeing your pinched nerves. Once the relaxation occurs, the pain signals will simply fade away.
You don’t need to live your life in pain. Although complicated, TMJ is treatable. Interested in discovering what TMJ dentistry can do to help alleviate your facial pain?
Come in for a consultation with Dr. Imm.