Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ) Disorder: Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Preventions and Treatments

What are TMJ and TMD?

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Temporomandibular joint, or TMJ refers to the joint of the jaw and it’s the hinge joint connecting the lower jaw (mandible) to the upper temporal bone of the skull. This hinge is a complex joint in the body and is responsible for moving the lower jaw side-to side, backward and forward.

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When both upper and lower jaws aren’t functioning properly, they will prevent complex joints of discs, tendons, blood vessels, muscles, bones, ligaments and other tissues associated with them from working and hence causes a medical condition called Temporomandibular joint disorder (TMD).

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The problem of TMD is considered to be associated with the displacement of the cartilage in which the lower jaw connects to the skull adding stretching and pressure to the related sensory nerves causing problems to the jaw joint, jaw and neighboring facial muscles that control chewing and moving the jaw.

What are the Causes of TMD?

The causes of TMD are still not clear, however, dentists believe that its occurrence is due to the problems linked with the parts of the joint or the muscles of the jaw. TMD can also be caused by injury to the jaw, muscles or temporomandibular joint of both the neck and head either from a whiplash or a heavy blow.

Besides that, TMD is common in people who have a hereditary connective tissue disorder called Ehlers-Danlos syndrome or other connective tissue related disorders. 

Other possible causes include the presence of rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis, displacement of the disc or soft cushion between the socket and ball, clenching or grinding the teeth, in which these contributing factors have added lots of pressure on the TMJ.

What are the Symptoms of TMD?

Since there are many signs or symptoms indicating TMD in which these symptoms might also be present in other health problems, it’s advisable to get your dentist to do a proper diagnosis via appropriate X-rays test and a thorough clinical test to confirm the occurrence of TMD.