Suffering From TMJ? Fixing the Bite is the Answer

According to the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, temporomandibular joint and muscle disorders, commonly referred to by the umbrella term TMJ, affect over 10 million Americans. Because TMJ causes so many people pain and discomfort, researchers have been spending more time trying to establish the exact causes and treatments. But the best treatment for TMJ is occlusal correction, one of the most underutilized procedures in dentistry today.

TMJ is a potentially debilitating disorder whose underlying causes and cure are poorly understood by mainstream dentistry. TMJ is acute or chronic inflammation of the temporomandibular joint, the joint where the mandible (lower jaw) connects to the bone at the side of the head. This is one of the most important joints in our bodies because the motion allows us to talk, chew, yawn, etc. Sometimes trauma, such as whiplash as in a "rear-ended" automobile accident can cause the disorder. Burt Reynolds nearly lost his career when he was hit in the face with a chair that was wrought iron instead of balsa wood. This incident was the inciting cause of his TMJ.

Another cause is a bad bite-when the jaw can't find a definite location to bite there is a subconscious urge to grind or clench, to try to find a stable position, and this can cause stress on the joint. The literature says that the bite does not have any causal relation with TMJ, but the scientific literature predominately contradicts what I, and most dentists, believe.

Part of the problem with diagnosing TMJ is the many varied symptoms that can occur. Dizzy spells, ringing in the ears, headaches, pains, and strange noises in the head may all be attributable to TMJ. Headaches are probably one of the most common symptoms of TMJ. Other symptoms include pain in the face and neck, stiffness in the jaw (with limited movement or locking), and clicking. Even chewing can be painful. One case I encountered was so severe that the patient considered suicide. He was referred to me by his physician after more than ten years of suffering.

Because this joint disorder is often caused by a bad bite, the most effective treatment is organic occlusion, or the ideal fit of jaws and teeth. This bite correction procedure should always be done prior to any TMJ work, any periodontal work, and any major reconstruction work. This is an irreversible solution, but it is the long-term solution. When the torque produced by missing teeth, misplaced teeth, or dental work not in harmony with the existing bite is corrected, the joint has the best chance to heal.

There are other, short-term, solutions to this problem that actually just relieve the pain symptoms. These include pain medications, eating soft food, ice packs, and stabilization splints. Splints can provide immediate relief and hope for the patient, but the reason for the relief is really a testimony as to what is wrong-the habitual bite or the fit of the natural teeth is wrong. After doing it wrong for almost thirty years, I made the radical change that I now recommend to all dentists: occlusal correction.

Since occlusal correction is the latest concept of occlusion, most dentists have not been trained to use it, do not want to use it, or are oblivious to it. Like brain surgery in medicine, only very skilled dentists should be doing occlusal correction. They are called gnathologists. The procedure involves grinding small spots on the tops of the teeth to allow the mandible to sit in the rearmost hinge posture. This posture relieves the strain on the TM joint and allows it to heal, but has been avoided because of the disasters caused by inadequate training.

The goal of this procedure is to achieve what is known as organic occlusion, in which the jaw is seated properly and the teeth fit together in a stable, even bite while harmonizing with the jaw's position. If the jaw, for whatever reason, can't find a stable position, a person may experience clenching and grinding. In such cases correcting the tops of the teeth according to precise engineering principles will fix the problem and may also alleviate related issues such as headaches, muscle pain, joint sounds, and in some cases even problems with eyesight and digestion.

Although occlusion is controversial, the fact remains that the procedure that works most often for the largest number of people is occlusal correction. It is by far the most useful procedure in dentistry today. Most often, after the major three-hour correction appointment, a patient goes home with the first hope he or she has had in years. The person's pain is gone, the face is relaxed, and all the teeth hit at the same time. Dentists need to know there is a superior approach to many of the problems they face, and patients suffering from TMJ need to understand the treatment alternatives that will work best for them.

Causes Of Body Joint Pain

Joint pain can be due to several causes and the treatment is dependent upon the cause of the pain. Joint pain is a common complaint often associated with aging process. Unusual exertion or overuse of joints can cause body joint pain. Other causes include injury, Arthritis, Tendonitis, Bursitis, Infectious diseases like influenza, measles, rheumatic fever, hepatitis and mumps, and autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus.

Injury

Impact and accidents of any sort leading to sprain, ligament or cartilage tear or fractures can cause body joint pain. The affected area and the nearby joints can become painful, depending upon the severity of the impact.

Arthritis

Gouty arthritis is caused by a defect in metabolism that results in overproduction of uric acid or a reduced ability of the kidneys to eliminate uric acid. In acute gouty arthritis the symptoms develop suddenly in one or two joints.

Osteoarthritis is a disease that causes deterioration of the joint cartilage. It is associated with aging and is the most common form of arthritis. The cartilage of the affected joint is roughened and worn down, which causes pain. Septic arthritis is inflammation of a joint caused by bacteria. This form of arthritis can also cause body joint pain.

Tendonitis

Tendonitis is inflammation of the tendon which is the fibrous structure that joins the muscle to the bone. Common joints that get affected by tendonitis are wrist, elbow, shoulder and heel.

Bursitis

Bursitis is inflammation of fluid filled sacs called Bursae. Bursae connect tendons to both the skin and bone. Bursitis commonly occurs in the shoulder, knee, elbow and hips.

Infectious diseases

Diseases like flu, mumps and others are contagious diseases can cause pain in the body joints, among other symptoms.

Autoimmune diseases

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic disease that causes joint pain affecting the joints and surrounding tissues. It is a disease that attacks the body using its own immune cells. Lupus is another chronic autoimmune disorder. It affects many organ systems including skin, joints and internal organs.

Foods That Can Alleviate Stiff and Painful Joints

If a person is suffering from stiff and painful joints, there could be several reasons for it. It could be due to arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis. If a person is active in physical sports, it can also cause pain and stiffness in the joints. According to the Director of Allergy Medical UK, people suffering from stiff and painful joints due to arthritis, osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis can get rid of the pain and stiffness by eating certain types of food and avoiding other types.

One of the main causes of stiff and painful joints among young adults is the posture while sitting and sleeping and wearing high heels every day. Also, eating unhealthy food can cause the joints to become painful and stiff, something that not many people are aware of.

A leading holistic nutritional chiropractor in the United States, Dr. Grady Deal claims that when a person consumes unhealthy food, it causes toxic chemicals to accumulate in the body. It is these toxic chemicals that cause the pain and stiffness. The toxins cause tightening of the muscles due to which the person experiences muscle spasms. Once spasms set in, the joints are pulled out of their normal alignment. In addition, eating unhealthy food can also result in edema, swelling of the joints and water retention. When this occurs, pressure is exerted on the nerves resulting in pain in the joints and subsequent stiffness.

Hence, any food that is considered to be toxic to the body should be removed from the diet. Dr. Deal claims that things such as chocolates, alcohol, dairy products, coffee, foods containing MSG and non-prescription medications are the leading cause of toxicity in the body. So, a person should be careful about consuming food from fast food restaurants and also drinking sweetened carbonated drinks. Instead the person should be looking to consume foods that are rich in calcium, such as kale, figs, yogurt, salmon and broccoli. It is recommended that a person should increase their intake of fresh vegetables. When consuming foods like sandwiches and burgers, adding lots of lettuce and tomatoes can make them healthier. Also, instead of having French fries, the person can opt for fresh green salad or diced fresh vegetables. Another way to make the food more joint-friendly is by increasing the intake of Omega-3 essential fatty acids. These acids are present in fish, such as salmon and mackerel. If a person is suffering from osteoarthritis, it is best to increase the intake of Vitamin C, according to Arthritis Today.

By carefully selecting foods and eating small and frequent meals throughout the day, a person will notice a significant improvement in the condition of their joints.

How Omega 3 Fish Oil Can Improve Joint Health And Reduce Arthritis Pain

What are you currently doing to aid your rheumatoid arthritis pain? If you are like most people with the condition, you take one or more prescription medications designed to keep the pain and swelling to a minimum. The most commonly prescribed medications are called nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs. Brands include Advil, Aleve, Clinoril, Lodine, and Motrin. Like all drugs, side effects are prevalent with these kinds of medications. The most common of these include upset stomach, dizziness, blurred vision, and heartburn.

What if you could skip the side effects and simply experience relief from arthritis pain? With omega 3 fish oil, your wish can become reality.

Not only does this supplement provide essential fatty acids to reduce pain and inflammation associated with rheumatoid arthritis, it can also offer protection from heart disease. You may be surprised and excited to learn that omega 3 has proven so successful in various studies that all subjects of the trials were able to reduce their drug intake and 75% were able to completely eliminate their need to take NSAIDs.

Conditions of painful joints and severe morning stiffness normally experienced by rheumatoid arthritis sufferers were lessened to a degree of manageability without the need for drugs.

In the study published in the October 2006 edition of the Journal of Rheumatology, other aspects of the patients' health were measured as well. Get this: instead of unpleasant side effects and an increased risk for heart attack, omega 3 fish oil actually raised the participants' HDL cholesterol levels.

By increasing this good cholesterol, the balance between LDL and HDL is improved. Also triglyceride levels were decreased in the patients of the experiment as well. The conclusion of this specific study, as with many other rheumatoid arthritis studies, is that fish oil should be considered an effective means of reducing rheumatoid arthritis symptoms while simultaneously providing a number of other health benefits.

According to the American Heart Association, you should each two fatty fish meals per week to get between 650mg to 1,000mg of omega 3 fish oil. This can also be accomplished by supplementing your diet with fish oil supplements.

If you are ready to reduce your rheumatoid arthritis pain and improve your heart health at the same time, you should obtain a trustworthy source of omega 3 fish oil supplements. It is truly the best thing you can do for your joints as well as your heart.

Frequently Asked Questions About Knee Arthritis

What are my chances of developing arthritis in my knees?

Your chances of developing arthritis overall are fairly high. Osteoarthritis affects approximately one in 6 adults at right around 50 million people. If you are a woman, your chances are slightly higher than men for developing arthritis. But overall the chances are approximately 15 to 20%.

What are the different types of arthritis?

The most common type of arthritis by far is osteoarthritis. This is a degenerative joint disease that comes on from wear and tear from normal activities. It is due to cartilage that normally covers the ends of our bones deteriorating. This causes pain and loss of range of motion as bone begins to rub against bone when the cartilage is gone.

Additional types of arthritis include rheumatoid arthritis which is an autoimmune disease, gout, ankylosing spondylitis, juvenile arthritis, lupus, and some people include scleroderma and fibromyalgia as types of arthritis.

Who is most commonly affected with arthritis?

As mentioned arthritis afflicts more women than it does men. There are so many types of arthritis identified, it affects people in all age groups including children to the tune of 300,000. Most commonly at risk are those termed "baby boomers". Over half of those afflicted with arthritis are under the age of 65.

What treatments are available for arthritis?

The treatments for arthritis will depend first of all what kind of problem the patient has. If it's an autoimmune disease such as rheumatoid arthritis then there are various medications such as methotrexate or low-dose steroids that may be effective. The same is true for lupus which is another autoimmune disorder with treatments by a rheumatologist often being extremely effective. When a person has gout there are medications to help counteract the situation and to help prevent it from coming back. The medications prescribed for gout will vary depending on which type the patient has.

The most common type of arthritis, osteoarthritis, has multiple levels of treatments available. The first would include activity avoidance, which means that if a certain activity flares up arthritis pain it should be avoided. Secondly, there are medications that can help a lot such as anti-inflammatory medications and Tylenol. These should always be taken according to the manufacturers recommendations. Injections of steroid medication can help significantly in osteoarthritis along with the other types as well including rheumatoid arthritis.

There is an additional type of injection frost urethritis which consists of hyaluronic acid injections. These help replace the lubricating joint fluid and can promote the body to make more. There are also some nutritional supplements called glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate which can help protect cartilage and also promote the body to make a little bit more.

At what point do I need surgery for my arthritis condition?

Arthritis is not a fatal condition. Therefore, having surgery for arthritis is a quality of life decision and should be considered a last resort. Only the patient him or herself can know just how bothersome the arthritis is. Therefore, after substantial nonoperative treatment has been tried, it can only be up to the patient to decide just how much pain they are in, how much pain they can tolerate, and whether surgery is right at that point in time.

Who Else Wants to Banish TMJ?

Temporomandibular joint connects the lower jaw to the bone at the side of the head. Dysfunction in the joint and muscles that controls the movement of the jaw is called TMJ or temporomandibular joint disorder. This condition could result to several symptoms and discomforts. If you have this condition, of course you want to banish TMJ problems for good.

If you have TMJ disorder, extreme movement of the jaw creates crunching sound and your jaw movement maybe limited. This disorder can also lead to problems like locked jaw, headache, pain radiating to your face and ears. It is important to banish TMJ disorder to relieve the discomforts.

The cause of TMJ disorder is still unknown and some symptoms may go away without treatment but others experience long term excruciating pain. Although as of this time, there is no scientific basis why these things happen, it is still important to know how to ease the pain and banish TMJ disorder.

It is best to consult your doctor or health provider because facial pain can be a symptom of other health problems. If TMJ disorder is identified, most experts recommend conservative and reversible treatments to banish TMJ. Invasive procedures like surgery should be the last option.

To treat TMJ pain, the use of pain medications like pain relievers and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs maybe recommended but prolonged use of medications may result to addiction or other side effects like digestive and liver problems.

Self-care is one of the best conservative treatments to banish TMJ pain like eating soft foods to avoid too much pressure on the jaw. Extreme jaw movement and other activities that will require too much jaw movement should be avoided like gum chewing, wide yawning and eating hard to chew foods.

Stress management is also another method that can help banish TMJ pain. Stress can cause muscle and joint pains and you should know how to manage your stress. Learn some relaxation techniques to release muscle and joint tension.

Physical therapy with the help of a therapist is also another good way to banish TMJ. If necessary, electrical stimulation maybe performed to ease the pain. Your therapist may also perform appropriate joint and muscle relaxation exercises and massage to ease TMJ pain.

Fibromyalgia Pain Relief

Fibromyalgia pain relief is necessary for patients who suffer from debilitating aches, joint stiffness, muscle spasms, headaches, extreme fatigue, Fibro problems, and a vast assortment of other musculoskeletal problems. The condition can be further exacerbated by communal illnesses such as irritable bowel syndrome and chronic fatigue, which can greatly increase a sufferer's pain.

The causes of Fibromyalgia are unclear, and the cures differ from person to person. This creates difficulty in providing comprehensive fibromyalgia pain relief for everyone. Each case of the illness varies from patient to patient which includes the areas, degrees and stimuli of painful discomfort. In order to design an effective plan for pain relief, an accurate diagnosis of the illness must be performed.

Fibromyalgia can be difficult to detect because there are not any solid tests that can diagnose the condition. A diagnosis is usually assigned after all other possible illnesses have been ruled out. Rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, osteoarthritis, and chronic fatigue also exhibit many of the same symptoms as fibromyalgia, and doctors normally want to eliminate other conditions before beginning to treat a patient for fibromyalgia pain.

After an accurate diagnosis, a person's health and lifestyle are evaluated to determine the best possible fibromyalgia treatment plan for a patient. The first fibromyalgia symptom that most doctors will attempt to treat is chronic pain, as this is the most discomforting condition for fibromyalgia patients.

Pain relief is normally treated using traditional medicine as well as alternative treatments. The common tools that doctors use are various types of physical therapy, antidepressants, sleeping pills and muscle relaxants. Physical therapy, which can take the form of hydro exercise, stretching, and walking may help reduce fatigue and muscular discomfort. The chronic pain of Fibromyalgia can cause doctors to prescribe antidepressants in patients who have been struggling with years of chronic health problems.

Issues like dietary changes and lifestyle changes can greatly aid in relief for many patients. Creating a nutritious diet that eliminates caffeine and sugar, which can cause stress on the body, is very important. In addition, certain supplements like bromelaincan and magnesium can help to reduce fibromyalgia pain in the shoulders, back, and neck.

Magnesium has recently become a popular treatment option for fibromyalgia, and has been shown to relax and provide lower back natural pain reliever in fibromyalgia patients. Bromelain, which is derived from pineapple, has anti-inflammatory properties. These help to minimize tenderness and join pain. Vitamin C can also provide relief to joint tenderness and swollen tissues.

There are many techniques of massage therapy that can be used for types of fibromyalgia pain, and one of the most useful is trigger point therapy. Trigger point therapy focuses on specific points of the body that are more susceptible to muscular tension and spasms. Applying pressure and massaging can release knotted muscles and provide fibromyalgia pain reduction in many patients.