Sore jaw? We can help.

If you have tender jaw muscles, a reduced ability to open or close your mouth, discomfort when you bite or chew, headaches, ear, neck, shoulder or facial pain, or joint clicking or popping, there’s a good chance you have temporomandibular joint disorder (or TMJ for short). But don’t worry, you’re not alone. A whopping 60 million North Americans suffer from TMJ issues.

TMJ disorder is an inflammation of the temporomandibular joint, which is the jaw joint that you use to open and close your mouth when you talk, chew, yell, yawn and bite. It can be caused by a number of factors:

• Grinding or clenching your teeth
• A poorly aligned bite
• Trauma to the face or jaw
• Poor posture
• Excessive gum chewing

The pain and discomfort can be alleviated with careful treatment. At DS Dental, we use a number of approaches to reduce muscle tension, get a stable bite and help you heal:

• correct bite alignment
• bite guards/night guards
• anti-inflammatory medication
• physical therapy
• neuromuscular dentistry
• surgery (in cases of more severe pain)