What You Need To Know About Severe TMJ Symptom

Albeit TMJ is a serious condition affecting thousands of people today, only a limited number of these people are aware that they have the condition. Sometimes, it may be so mild that it escapes notice. At other times, a person may already have a TMJ but may not know it because of misdiagnosis. What can be considered a severe TMJ symptom?

Symptoms

Different individuals experience symptoms of TMJ in varying degrees. It however may not only cause considerable pain but may also result in other physical conditions. Here are some symptoms:

- A severe headache is one sign. It is possible that this headache is a referred type of pain that is the result of the pressure on the jaw joints. Some people may experience tremendous headaches but are unfortunately unable to get proper treatment. This is because a TMJ headache can sometimes be misdiagnosed as migraine or some other type of head pain.

- Another sign of the condition would also include facial pains, and aches near the areas of the ears, back, neck and shoulders. Sometimes, part of the face may begin to swell.

- A ringing sound which may accompany the pain in the ears is also another severe symptom. In some cases, the ear can be so affected that a person suffers from dizziness.

- Some may also suffer damaged or deformed teeth. This happens when a person instinctively tries to correct an uncomfortable bite by grinding the teeth. Frequent grinding itself can worsen it.

- However, the most severe symptom to watch out for is the possible changing direction of the jaw's movements and the altering of the shape's face. Depending on your condition, you could suffer from jaw deviations whenever you open your mouth. You could also end up with a face that looks like it has a receding chin and a forward moving forehead.

- Another common symptom is jaw clicking or popping. This happens when the joints misalign due to cartilage deficiencies and then realign. In the most severe cases, it can progress to lock jaw in which one would be unable to make any kind of jaw movement.

- Speech defects are also possible manifestation of TMJ. This is obviously due to the misalignment of the jaws and teeth.

What Triggers Symptoms?

Severe TMJ symptoms can be triggered by various factors. It is quite obvious that one could suffer from it due to physical accidents or shock. A car accident for example or a sports injury could lead to a TMJ condition. There are times though when a condition can be caused by common habits made worse by stress. There are times for example when we tend to clench our jaws and grind our teeth when we are in tense situations. Repeated clenching and grinding could then lead to a severe TMJ case. It could also be precipitated by frequent biting on hard candy, large chunks of meat and hard pastries.