Dr. Enrico DiVito is a general and cosmetic dentist who specializes in laser dentistry at the Arizona Center for Laser Dentistry in North Scottsdale. A graduate of Arizona State University and the University of the Pacific Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry in San Francisco, Dr. DiVito returned to Arizona and established a private practice in 1980. He founded the Arizona Center for Laser Dentistry in 2007. In this article, he tells us the basics about TMJ.
TMJ is an acronym that stands for temporomandibular joint. For a lot of people, the term TMJ is something they hear pretty often, so they’re used to hearing about TMJ. But they might still not be exactly sure what it really is, or if TMJ is what causing their pain.
Essentially, TMJ is your jaw joint, and it is a term that we use for describing patients who are suffering from head, neck, or jaw joint pain. As such, we are able to therapeutically treat those patients to make their overall pain go away. However, one of the issues with TMJ that can make treating it a little complicated at times is that the symptoms people may present can be complex. For some, they might have muscle pain, while others are complaining of pain in their teeth. And for some patients, they might have a combination of multiple symptoms.
I often hear patients come into the office and say they are having headaches, or their ears are clicking. Or, possibly, they are hearing clicking and popping their jaw. As we look deeper, we are searching for reasons for this pain that are more complex than just cavities or surface issues with their teeth. What we see commonly, in these cases, is that the patient’s jaw just isn’t in the right spot—it’s not lined up properly. That is a lot of what TMJ is.
Along with a complete dental exam, x-rays are commonly needed in order to properly diagnose a TMJ case, and to determine whether a head or neck injury that a patient may have sustained could have led to what is now TMJ. In some cases, as well, we may ask for an MRI to determine what our next step should be. No matter what, though, we are going in there to find out what is causing the patient to be in pain, and we are going to do our best to remedy their ongoing issue.
The complexity of TMJ is why patients really want to come to an expert when they look into treating it. Many dentists treat teeth, but they do not look deeper into the orthopedic position of the jaw. However, here at the Arizona Center for Laser Dentistry, that is something we always do. So we incorporate orthopedic dentistry into our everyday practice to get a better idea of what is going on.
We have a number of ways that we can treat patients with TMJ, although the specifics of that depend on what is causing their pain to begin with. Commonly, what we will do is line up the jaw so that patients will have less head, neck, and joint pain on a day to day basis. We can treat damaged teeth and overall oral structure, as well.
Once a patient feels like his immediate needs have been taken care of, and his condition has stabilized, we will commonly go back in to reassess the situation and possibly adjust our treatment plan.
It is important that patients know that here at the Arizona Center for Laser Dentistry, and other qualified dentistry practices, we understand that one size does not fit all—and no one treatment method will work for everyone. As such, we are comfortable in adjusting the way in which we treat TMJ to meet each patient’s specific needs.
The information in the article is not intended to substitute for the medical expertise and advice of your healthcare provider. We encourage you to discuss any decisions about treatment or care with an appropriate healthcare provider.
