WHAT IS TEMPOROMANDIBULA DISORDER? Common complaints in Temporomandibula area are:

- Pain in the jaw muscles or in the temporomandibular joint, which sometimes radiates to the neck and shoulders. This is the major complaint.
- Tired and stiffness feeling in the jaw muscles, especially, in the morning
- Limited mouth opening or “locked” jaw feeling.
- Sounds from Jaw joints: clicking or abrasive sounds in the joint when opening or closing the   mouth.
- Symptoms such as headache, earache, dizziness may also occur.

WHAT NEEDED TO BE DONE? A detailed description of patients’ symptoms, together with examination of masticatory system by the dentist, in most cases, leads to a diagnosis. Once the diagnosis is made, a treatment plan can be made and later on discussed with the patient.
Patient assessment includes examination of the temporomandibular joints and masticatory muscles, observation of any joint sounds by moving the mandible, investigation of any restrictions or irregularities in jaw movement during opening and closing the mouth and also teeth functional relation during jaw movement.

Treatments of Temporomandibular Disorder include patient instructions on how to control jaw movement as to reduce the pain. Special techniques are availabe to teach patients how to relax, cope with stressful situations and eliminate bad habits, such as teeth grinding, nail biting and other parafunction activities. Physiotherapy exercises are commonly applied for this disorder which include, muscle exercise with or without myofeedback equipments, massages, mobilization therapy, and relaxation exercises. Medications, though rarely used, can also be prescript by the dentist for treatment, from Antiinflamatory to antideppressants medications. In some cases, the dentist would suggest the use of stabilization splints for treatment. This is a hard plastic plate that fits over the teeth of the upper or lower jaw. By using the splint, patient can reduce parafunction habits, and subsequently reducing the pain.

Consult us immediately if you have such symptoms to have them examed and treated as early as possible. We have a group of highly trained dentists specialized in TMD under auspicious control of Dr. Maya Marpaung, Sp Pros, MSC cand in Gnathology from Universiteit van Amsterdam.