If you’re suffering from TMJ, it’s likely affecting your daily life. Dr. Van Tassell’s wife is just one of the millions of Americans who suffer from TMJ. As Dr. Van Tassell watched his wife struggle with up to 8 migraines per week, he knew he had to do something. Her frequent migraine occurrences caused her to drop out of college and have a massive impact on her quality of life. With TMJ treatment, Dr. Van Tassell was able to provide his wife with a new lease on her life. She was no longer suffering from frequent migraines and headaches. Instead, she was enjoying her daily life with her family, pain-free!
This is just one example of how TMJ treatment can provide a new lease on life for those suffering.
How TMJ Can Affect Your Daily Life
Untreated TMJ can affect many different areas of your life which contribute to an overall decreased quality of life.
Sleep
One of the first ways untreated TMJ will affect your life is by disrupting your sleep. There is a strong correlation between TMJ and sleep apnea. Nearly 75% of people with TMJ have a sleep breathing disorder such as sleep apnea or snoring. 53% of those with sleep apnea have TMJ.
The strong correlation between TMJ and sleep apnea is due to the shape and/or position of the jaw. When the jaw doesn’t develop properly or rests in the wrong position, it can obstruct the airway and therefore result in snoring or sleep apnea.
Suffering from TMJ may also mean that you’re experiencing an obstructive airway while you sleep. Airway obstruction can disrupt sleep and therefore result in low energy during the day, headaches, migraines, and more. If you also suffer from sleep apnea, you’re at risk for severe health complications like heart attack and stroke.
By treating TMJ, you may resolve any airway problems you suffer from during sleep.
Eating Habits
If your jaw feels sore from untreated TMJ, you’re likely not going out of your way to enjoy any crunchy or hard food or food that requires you to open your mouth wide. Restricting your diet to accommodate your TMJ pain can make a huge impact on your quality of life. Instead of restricting foods, get TMJ treatment to relieve your pain so you can eat your favorite foods again.
Posture
In some cases, poor posture can cause TMJ and TMJ can affect posture. The neck, head, and jaw joints are all connected. Therefore, when one aspect is out of balance or alignment, it can affect multiple areas of the body. Your TMJ treatment may require the assistance of a physical therapist in addition to the help of our TMJ dentists at StarImage Dentistry. With proper treatment, both your posture and TMJ will improve. Poor posture can cause pain and impact your overall appearance which can hurt your confidence.
Hearing
Another aspect of your life that TMJ might impact is your hearing. The jaw joints rest right next to the ears. When the muscles surrounding the jaw joint experience inflammation, that inflammation can spread to the ears and cause symptoms like clogged hearing, tinnitus, and ear pain. Without treatment, you may experience hearing loss which can have a huge impact on your quality of life.
Pain
The last way untreated TMJ will impact your quality of life is by causing you pain. You may experience jaw, neck, face, shoulder, and head pain almost daily. Not to mention, you might also suffer from frequent headaches and migraines. Pain can have the biggest impact on quality of life and cause you to live your life suffering.
TMJ Treatment Process
If you’re suffering from any of the symptoms of TMJ and they’re having an impact on your quality of life, TMJ treatment can help. After going through a list of symptoms, we examine you as part of your diagnosis. This involves the use of advanced dental technology including panoramic x-rays, CT scans, and the K7 system that uses electrosonography, electromyography, and digital jaw tracking. All of the data we collect helps us understand what’s causing the imbalance in your jaw system. Your treatment plan will work towards rebalancing your jaw to bring harmony to the jaw joints and surrounding muscles, nerves, and tissues.
Your treatment plan may include an oral splint, orthodontics, and restorative dentistry. Every patient is different, so you will receive a customized treatment plan after your diagnosis.
Get TMJ Treatment in Wichita Falls Today
After getting TMJ treatment, you will find that you get a second lease on life. You will no longer feel in pain and instead will begin to feel like a brand new person. Let us help you find relief from TMJ pain. Please call StarImage Dentistry in Wichita Falls at 940-322-2252 to book an appointment with Dr. Green or Dr. Van Tassell today.
