Do you experience pain in your jaw, face or neck? Do you wake up with headaches?
If you have TMJ, you may experience difficulty chewing, hear popping in your jaw, or have chronic facial pain. TMJ is the misalignment or misuse of the temporomandibular joint. The jaw joint can often become damaged or misaligned, causing patients to experience painful symptoms that are difficult to alleviate without proper diagnosis and treatment.
Our Centreville, VA area dentist office offers analysis and jaw alignment screening during all routine dental health exams. Dr. Hassan helps patients find relief from painful symptoms through the precise diagnosis of the functional issues that cause TMJ disorder. Treating TMJ can prevent future damage to your teeth, gums, and jaw joint and alleviate painful symptoms.
Do I have TMJ?
TMJ is a painful, often debilitating disorder that can affect all aspects of your life. Patients often suffer from this chronic pain condition for many years due to misdiagnosis. Dr. Hassan has the training and skill set to properly diagnose and treat complex TMJ conditions.
Symptoms of TMJ include:
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- Daily headaches
- Earaches
- Jaw pain
- Popping or clicking in the jaw
- Difficulty chewing
- Worn or damaged teeth
- Teeth grinding and jaw clenching
Can children have TMJ?
TMJ is common in patients in of all ages. For many children and teens, TMJ is caused by habitual teeth grinding known as bruxism. Children and adults may unknowingly grind their teeth during sleep. Habitual teeth grinding can cause damage or stress to the jaw joint resulting in painful TMJ symptoms. Reports of morning headaches, broken or worn teeth are common in children patients with TMJ.
Oral sleep devices are highly effective at preventing teeth grinding in patients of any age.
Centreville, VA TMJ Treatment Options
Treatment for TMJ is tailored to your unique dental concerns. Dr. Hassan will use TMJ therapy options to alleviate tension in the jaw joint and to realign the smile so that jaw is able to function properly. TMJ therapy is designed to treat the underlying functional aspects affecting the health of your bite.
- Oral Sleep Appliance: For patients who grind their teeth, an oral sleep appliance can help to reduce stress on the jaw and prevent damage from occurring to the teeth and gums. Oral sleep appliances prevent the upper and lower jaw from grinding together during sleep.
- Restorative dentistry: For patients with advanced restorative issues, Dr. Hassan may reccomened a combination of cosmetic and restorative procedure to balance the bite. A more balanced bite can provide patients with relief from discomfort caused by TMJ.
- Invisalign: In some cases, crooked teeth may be the cause of a misalignment in the jaw and can cause TMJ pain. Dr. Hassan is a Centreville, VA area Invisalign provider. Invisalign can be used to discreetly and comfortably realign crooked teeth bringing harmony to the alignment of the jaw, reliving painful symptoms.