Suffering from Jaw Pain One Side
Are you suffering from jaw pain one side only? Just one side may be affected and you might think the problem lies with your teeth. You may be suffering from TMJ syndrome. This painful condition is also called temporomandibular joint dysfunction (TMD). The temporomandibular joint is a complex mass of muscles, tendons and bones so there can be a number of reasons for things to go wrong. This is why it can be difficult to pinpoint the exact cause making it a difficult condition to treat. Some people can live for years with constant pain. Others only suffer periodically and at often at a loss wondering what they did to trigger a painful outbreak.
What causes the jaw pain on one side only?
There are many reasons why you could be suffering with jaw pain. They include:
1) Jaw misalignment as a result of wear and tear or due to an injury. As we get older our joints age in a similar way to our skin. This means that they are more prone to breaking down and if this happens in your temporomandibular joint, you can suffer pain in your jaw. If your jaw joint has been injured, perhaps you dislocated your jaw in a motor accident you can be left with TMJ symptoms.
2) Degeneration caused by age. Arthritis may be the root cause of your problems. It can arise simply because you are getting older or it may be caused by an accident. You may have suffered an accident or injury while at the dentist but didn’t think it could leave lasting damage. This may have disrupted the cartilage that surrounds all the joints in our bodies and that cartilage may be now blocking the correct movement of the joint.
Do you have to live with jaw joint pain?
No is the simple answer to the question of whether you have to live with jaw joint pain or not. There are a variety of different TMJ treatments on the market. Some have a more successful track record than others. Some treatments for TMJ are very expensive and may not make a difference to your condition. It isn’t unusual for sufferers to be treated with expensive dental surgery despite the limited success rates involved with such procedures. If you are considering this option you may want to make sure you have investigated all other avenues of treatment first. Don’t be pushed into surgery. You might want to get a couple of different medical opinions first.
Night guards may provide some relief but can also cause bruxism symptoms to worsen. It is normal to experience an increase in pain for the first couple of days of wearing these items but if the pain does not reduce in time you may want to return to your dentist.
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