What is a TMJ Disorder?
Clicking, popping, difficulty chewing, and tenderness of the jaw are all signs that your temporomandibular joints (TMJs) might have a problem. TMJ disorders — also known as TMD — can occur for several reasons, including erosion or damage to the joint or its supporting structures.
The easiest way to find out if you’re suffering from a TMD is by contacting our Staten Island, NY office and scheduling a consultation with one of our expertly trained dentists.
Diagnosing Your TMD
When you arrive for your appointment, one of our dentists will use their expertise to diagnose the issue. They’ll ask about your symptoms and examine your jaw — this examination might include listening as you open and close your mouth, observing as you try to move it, and feeling areas of your jaw for pain or discomfort.
If they identify an issue, the next step is to take some images of your oral cavity. We’ll use our advanced x-ray imaging to get a glimpse of your teeth and jaw. From there, a CT scan will fill in the blanks and provide a high-resolution image of the bones and other supporting structures of your TMJs.
After examining these images, we can begin to develop a treatment plan.
Treatment
Without proper treatment, it’s possible that your TMD could go away. If the problem persists, our Staten Island dental team has a variety of solutions that can help relieve some of your discomforts. Among these treatments, we can provide medications, including:
- Muscle relaxers: These will help relieve pain by limiting the muscle spasms that your jaw experiences.
- Pain relievers and anti-inflammatories: Sometimes over-the-counter pain relief isn’t enough. If you’re still in pain, we might provide something to help with discomfort and swelling.
- Tricyclic antidepressants: While these are traditionally meant for patients with depression, a low dosage has proven beneficial for relieving pain, controlling teeth grinding and clenching, and tiredness.
Beyond medication, our Staten Island dentists have non-drug therapy exercises that you can use to help mitigate your discomfort. For example, physical therapy will help massage the supporting structures of your jaw, strengthening the joint. There are also devices such as oral splints that help protect your teeth from bruxism while you sleep.
While we’ll exhaust the other alternatives first, sometimes the only solution is surgery. Ask your Staten Island dentists what’s best for you.
Alleviate Your Jaw Pain on Staten Island
Whether it’s a slight clicking noise or a shooting pain in your jaw, the only way to ease your symptoms is with the help of a professional. Our Staten Island dentists will help restore function to your jaw and give you the necessary tools to ensure that it doesn’t happen again. Contact our office at 718-948-5111 to schedule a consultation. Alternatively, you can fill out the submission form, and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.
Insurance
We accept many insurances. Please contact one of our Insurance Coordinators to discuss your dental coverage plan.
Elizabeth Meehan
(718) 948 5111
appointments@nasso-olsen.com
Open 7 days a week
Reviews
The dentists are absolutely excellent…
“I have been going here for years. The dentists are absolutely excellent and they always have an appointment available that fits into a busy schedule. I also completed invisilgn and my teeth are perfectly straight now. They also practice preventive medicine and just went in for my 6 month cleaning. Every time feel like I have a new set of choppers and best yet the check up noted no cavities!.”
— J.R
Pleasant visit
“As usual, it was a pleasant visit thanks to Dr. Nasso and her great staff..”
— C.M.
Always treated with courtesy and respect.
“Always treated with courtesy and respect. All of my questions were answered regarding upcoming treatments..”
— J.C.
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