Occasionally my jaw feels stiff and I wake up with headaches. I have also noticed popping in my jaw joint. What is happening, and what can be done to correct it?
These are the common symptoms of ‘TMJ’ disorder. Other symptoms include frequent earaches, a locking jaw, sensitive teeth, limited mouth opening, and a jaw that tires easily. Although the root cause varies, ‘TMJ’ disorder usually involves clenching or grinding of the teeth, often at nighttime, and often without the person’s knowledge that they are doing so. For most people, this disorder is easily treatable by your dentist. Treatment normally involves patient education with self-care techniques and fabrication of a acrylic splint, which is normally worn at night while sleeping. Treatment of this disorder is important, not only to relieve the symptoms, but to prevent excessive wear of the teeth, and weakening of the teeth from stress-induced cracks.
