TMJ Disorders

A True Story - "I  Can't Open My Mouth!"

Recently a young college student came into my office in tears. She was in extreme joint pain and was unable to open her mouth.  Upon examination and discussion with the patient,  it became clear to me that the severe muscle spasms that were causing her pain were due to chronic clenching and grinding.

One of the obvious remedies to alleviate the pain resulting from constant bruxism (grinding) is to make a nightguard for the patient. However, in the caseof this young co-ed, the muscle spasms pevented her from opening her mouth wide enough for an impression to be taken. There are four basic immediate actions that I advsed her to take:

1.) Apply moist heat to both sides of the face four times a day for twenty minutes.  This wil improve the blood flow to the temporal mandibular joint muscles (TMJ) which will help to diminish the spasm.

2.) Limit caffeine intake because it is a general body stimulent and will make the spasms worse.

3.) Maintain a soft diet so as not to trigger more muscle spasms

4.) Take 400 mg of ibuprofen every six hours with food to help reduce the inflammation

Above all,do not chew gum as this will only increase your acute discomfort.

In extreme cases, such as the case of this college student, a muscle skeletal relaxer can be prescribed by your dentist to help interrupt the spasm cycle.  This is not meant to be long term.

Once the patient can open her moth wide enough to allow an impression to be taken, a personalized nightguard can be designed to fit comfortably and prevent the bruxism that is the culprit in the causing the pain.

  College exams are just weeks away. Grinding season in upon us.