TMJ Treatment in Atlanta, GA

Do you ever experience stiffness in your jaw? Perhaps you have felt pain in the joints that connect to your jawbone. Maybe you have even noticed difficulty opening or closing your mouth properly, especially when speaking or chewing. These may be signs that you have a condition known as temporomandibular joint dysfunction or TMJ. TMJ is sometimes also known as “lockjaw” and can be a serious complication of the jawbone and the connecting joints. While it can be a very serious condition, a few different options are available to both treat the condition and relieve symptoms, making it possible to restore motion to the jaw again.

What is TMJ?

TMJ, as the name suggests, is a joint dysfunction that connects the jawbone. When the joints don’t function properly, a patient can experience pain, swelling, and difficulty with range of motion to the point that they may not be able to open or close their mouth at all, hence the term “lockjaw.”

Some factors can cause TMJ Treatment in Atlanta; these include the improper resting position of the teeth, which forces the jaw out of position, tightening of the muscles in the jaw, which hinders the movement of the jaw, and clenching or grinding of teeth which put excessive pressure on the jawbone and cause damage and alignment issues.

The TMJ treatment near you used typically depends on the type of damage done and the severity of the symptoms.

What Treatments Are Used?

There are a few ways to treat TMJ.

If the issue is due to constriction of the muscles in the jaw, then an injection of a relaxing agent such as BOTOX® into the jaw can help restore motion and reduce pain.

If it is due to clenching or grinding of teeth, which puts pressure on the jaw, then a night guard designed to treat clenching and grinding will help.

Lastly, if the issue is due to misalignment of the joints, it may require surgery to set the bones back into the proper position to fix the problem.