Everything You Need to Know About TMJ

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everything you need to know about tmj

If you notice a clicking or popping sound in your jaw when eating, or you wake up in the morning to find that your jaw is stiff and sore, you may suffer from temporomandibular disorder, also known as TMJ.

The exact cause of TMJ is very hard to determine. Factors such as genetics, lifestyle, injury, and arthritis all play a role when it comes to TMJ. Sometimes poor posture can even be the culprit behind jaw pain.

If you suffer from TMJ, you should visit our dentist in Yaletown for TMJ treatment near you. They will provide you with the tools to get some relief from the painful symptoms caused by TMJ.

What is the Temporomandibular Joint?

The temporomandibular joint, or the TMJ, is the hinge that connects your jaw to your skull. Many people experience pain in this area. Luckily, most cases can be addressed with lifestyle changes and TMJ exercises provided by our dentist near you.

What is TMJ Physical Therapy?

When you visit ABBA Dental for TMJ pain, our dentist will thoroughly examine your jaw to determine what might be going on.

After this, they may prescribe you a series of jaw exercises to help relieve your symptoms. Some of these may include:

  • Practicing relaxing your jaw: This TMJ treatment in Yaletown is best for those prone to clenching and grinding their teeth. Place your tongue behind your teeth on the roof of your mouth and allow your mouth to relax with your teeth apart. Hold your jaw here for 10 seconds and repeat this exercise five times daily.
  • Strengthen your neck: Your neck and TMJ are connected, and weak muscles in your neck can contribute to your jaw pain. One exercise that may help is lying flat on your back, bringing your chin toward your chest, holding for about five seconds, and repeating ten times twice daily.
  • Resisted mouth opening and closing: Close your mouth and put your fist underneath your chin. Use your fist as a gentle resistance as you open your mouth. Make sure to go slow with this and repeat five times, twice a day.

Other TMJ Treatments

On top of these exercises, you can use some of the following at-home remedies to help relieve your pain:

  • Mouthguards: these can be provided by Abba Dental and worn to prevent clenching and grinding and realign your jaw.
  • Ice: apply ice to your jaw for 10-15 minutes to help reduce pain.
  • Stress management: if you have been under much stress lately, try breathing exercises to teach your body to stay calm and avoid stress-related pain.
  • Lifestyle changes: While healing, avoid eating overly chewy foods such as steak or gum and opening your mouth wide.
  • Use anti-inflammatories: over-the-counter medication such as ibuprofen can be used for temporary pain relief, but avoid taking these habitually as they can cause problems with your overall health when used long-term.

Visit a TMJ Specialist Near You

TMJ is a painful and debilitating disorder that may not disappear with home remedies alone. If you believe you are suffering from TMJ, don’t hesitate to get the help you need. Our team at Abba Dental is happy to provide you with TMJ treatment options so you can return to enjoying the activities you love. Please get in touch with our clinic to book a consultation today!

Now Open: Abba Dental Safety Measures

Dear Patients:

We hope this letter finds you and your family in good health. Our community has been through a lot over the last few months, and all of us are looking forward to resuming our normal habits and routines. While many things have changed, one thing has remained the same: our commitment to safety.

Infection control has always been a top priority for our practice and you may have seen this during your visit to our office. Our infection control processes are made so that when you receive care, it’s both safe and comfortable. We want to tell you about the infection control procedures we follow in our practice to keep patients and staff safe.

You may see some changes when it is time for your next appointment. We made these changes to help protect our patients and staff. For example:

- Our Office will communicate with you beforehand to ask some screening questions. You’ll be asked those same questions again when you are in the office.

- We have hand sanitizer that we will ask you to use when you enter the office. You will also find hand sanitizer in reception area and other places in the office for you to use as needed.

- You may see that our waiting room will no longer offer magazines, children’s toys and so forth, since those items are difficult to clean and disinfect.

- Appointments will be managed to allow for social distancing between patients. That might mean that you’re offered fewer options for scheduling your appointment.

- We will do our best to allow greater time between patients to reduce waiting times for you, as well to reduce the number of patients in the reception area at any one time.

We look forward to seeing you again and are happy to answer any questions you may have about the steps we take to keep you, and every patients, safe in our practice. To make an appointment, please call our office 604-688-7201 or request an appointment online https://www.abbadental.ca/

Thank you for being our patient. We value your trust and loyalty. We look forward to welcoming our patients, neighbors and friends back to the office.

Sincerely,
ABBA DENTAL