Temporomadible joint is an important joint where your jawbone meets the skull. It is the joint which allows us to chew our food, it helps us to talk and open our mouth. TMJ disorder is often a problem faced by many individuals for variety of reasons it can be due to muscle fatigue, an injury on the face or a blow over the joint or due to grinding and clenching your teeth.
Causes and Symptoms of Temporomandibular Joint Disorder
- Damage to the joint as a result of injury on the face and over the joint.
- Constant grinding of teeth or clenching of teeth can strain your jaw muscles which may result in pain, and difficulty in opening your mouth while you eat or chew.
- Systemic disease like arthritis which can damage the cartilage of the joint causing a TMJ disorder.
- When there is erosion of the disk which keeps the joint in proper condition to move smoothly.
- Ill fitting dentures can cause stress on your joint while you eat.
- Sometimes if you bite a hard substance, it may give unnecessary strain on your TMJ joint.
Symptoms of TMJ: it will depend from person to person and how severe the condition is.
- Pain in the jaw joint.
- Tenderness.
- Clicking, or popping sound when you chew food or yawn.
- Headache and facial pain. The pain is worse when you open your mouth.
- Ear pain, the pain is situated below the ear or in front of the ear.
- Dizziness and imbalance, however why it occurs is not understood.
- It is often linked to tooth pain which results from constant grinding and clenching of the teeth.
- Limited opening of mouth.
- Due to this you may not be able to eat properly, chew your food properly and there may be difficulty in swallowing of food.
What are the Home Remedies for TMJ
- Change in your lifestyle is necessary to get relief from TMJ. Avoid clenching your teeth, grinding or chewing a hard substance unknowingly while you are working such as a pencil etc. This will relieve unnecessary tension on your jaw muscles.
- You should eat soft food, avoid sticky food, and avoid chewing gum.
- Do not open your mouth too wide while you yawn.
- Apply cold and hot packs on the affected area to relieve pain. This is the best home remedy for TMJ disorder.
- Stress relieving techniques such as meditation and deep breathing helps to relax the muscles of the jaw.
- Homeopathic medicine Arnica and Rhus tox and mag phos help to reduce pain and inflammation and muscle spasm caused due to TMJ.