Jacksonville, FL TMJ Treatment
Are you experiencing painful clicking in your jaw, morning headaches, or trouble chewing comfortably? Unfortunately, TMJ disorders can turn everyday activities like eating and talking into painful challenges. Thankfully, you don’t have to live with this discomfort. At Airway Dental and More, we understand how TMJ pain affects your daily life, and our expert team of Jacksonville dentists is dedicated to helping you find relief through personalized treatment plans tailored to your unique needs.
Our approach to TMJ treatment combines advanced technology with a thorough understanding of jaw mechanics and airway health. Dr. Neil K. Stevenson brings excellence in dental care to each case we see in our Jacksonville office, evaluating not just the joint itself but how it relates to your overall oral health. With our team’s experience in airway dentistry, we recognize that many TMJ issues connect to broader concerns with breathing and sleep patterns.
What Is TMJ Disorder?
TMJ disorder affects the temporomandibular joint, or the complex hinge that connects your jawbone to your skull. This joint works constantly throughout your day as you speak, eat, and express emotions. When it becomes inflamed or misaligned, pain and dysfunction often follow. Common TMJ disorder symptoms may include:
- Jaw pain
- Clicking or popping sounds when opening your mouth
- Facial muscle soreness
- Headaches
- Limited jaw movement
- Ear pain
- Dizziness
- Ringing in the ears
The causes of TMJ disorders vary widely. Jaw injuries, arthritis, teeth grinding (bruxism), and stress can all contribute to developing TMJ problems. Recent research from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research indicates about 5-12% of people experience TMJ disorders at some point in their lives, with symptoms more common in women than men.
Airway and Family Dentistry Financing Available
Comprehensive airway treatments and family dental care with flexible financing to improve your health and smile.
How Does Airway Health Connect to TMJ Issues?
The connection between your airway and TMJ health is an emerging focus in modern dentistry. Poor relationships between the jaws often forces people to position their jaw unnaturally to maintain an open airway during sleep. When your airway becomes partially obstructed, your body naturally compensates by moving the jaw forward. Over time, this places stress on your TMJ, leading to inflammation, pain and distortion of the joints. Many patients who struggle with mouth breathing or sleep-disordered breathing may develop TMJ problems as a secondary condition.
Nighttime teeth grinding (bruxism) also frequently accompanies airway issues. Your brain stimulates jaw movement to reopen the airway during sleep, resulting in grinding that damages teeth and stresses the TMJ. By addressing your airway health and TMJ problems together, we can provide a more comprehensive treatment plan that leads to lasting relief.
What TMJ Treatment Options Do We Offer?
Our approach to TMJ treatment starts with a thorough evaluation of your jaw function, dental alignment, and airway health. Using advanced diagnostic tools, we assess the state of your joint and identify the specific factors contributing to your discomfort. Some standard treatment options we offer in our Jacksonville office include:
- Custom-fitted oral appliances that reposition your jaw to reduce pressure on the joint
- Myofunctional therapy to strengthen oral and facial muscles supporting proper jaw function
- Dental sleep devices that improve both TMJ alignment and nighttime breathing
- Behavioral modifications to reduce habits that stress the joint
- Take-home sleep studies and diagnostics to identify connections between sleep breathing and TMJ problems
Rather than simply addressing your symptoms, we focus on identifying and treating the primary cause of your TMJ dysfunction. This approach may prevent the need for more invasive treatments and provide you with longer-lasting relief.
What Makes Our TMJ Treatment Approach Different?
Traditional TMJ treatment often focuses solely on the joint itself. At Airway Dental and More, we take a more holistic view by considering how your jaw function connects to your breathing patterns, oral posture, and overall health.
We can create more space for proper tongue positioning and improved airway function by addressing your palate and your jaw alignment. This comprehensive approach not only relieves TMJ pain but may also improve your sleep quality, reduce headaches, and enhance your overall well-being. Our team achieves this by staying current with the latest techniques in TMJ treatment. We incorporate the most effective therapies from traditional dentistry and emerging fields like airway dentistry to provide top-notch care options.
Contact Our Jacksonville Dental Office for TMJ Treatment
At Airway Dental and More, Dr. Neil K. Stevenson and our team bring a unique perspective to TMJ treatment by addressing the relationship between jaw pain and airway health. Our comprehensive approach looks beyond symptoms to find the underlying causes of your discomfort, offering solutions designed for long-term relief rather than temporary fixes.
We welcome patients of all ages to our practice and provide personalized care for each individual who walks through our doors. Whether you’ve struggled with TMJ pain for years or have recently developed symptoms, we’re ready to help you find relief. For comprehensive TMJ treatment from a team that treats patients like family, call us today at (904) 268-4466 or complete our contact form.
