Jaw Ache: Causes, Symptoms and Treatment

Causes

A variety of things could cause TMJ problems. It could be one or more of the following factors:

• A history of clenching

• A history of grinding teeth

• Stress

• Trauma

• Arthritis

• Auto-Immune Disease

Symptoms

Signs and symptoms of TMJ disorders may include:

• Pain or tenderness of your jaw

• Pain in one or both of the temporomandibular joints (highlighted on the image)

• Earache and headache

• Difficulty chewing or pain while chewing

• Locked jaw, making it difficult to open or close your mouth

• Clicking sounds when opening/closing

• Waking up with jaw discomfort (common when grinding/clenching in your sleep)

Treatment

There are a variety of treatments available to help ease signs and symptoms of TMJ problems, depending on what the cause could be.

• Exercises - your dentist may recommend you start with some simple jaw exercises to help ease pain. This is a simple and non-invasive way to potentially help. Your dentist could also recommend a number of relaxation techniques.

• Bite guard - your dentist may recommend a bite guard to wear at night or whenever you've noticed you clench/grind the most. This puts a protective barrier to prevent damage to teeth and in some cases helps break the habit of clenching and grinding.

• Splint - a splint would be made from a hard acrylic and is used to help re-programme the mouth, hence putting less pressure on your TMJ.

• Botox - Botox is a muscle relaxant. It would help relax the muscles around your TMJ reducing clenching/grinding.

• In some rare cases surgical intervention may be the only option.