Jaw Pain Westchester County, NY

Some types of pain are more closely associated with certain types of TMJ. It’s possible to have more than one type of jaw pain, as it’s possible to have more than one type of TMJ. Westchester County, NY TMJ dentist Dr. Mejia can help you track down the causes of jaw pain to help you achieve the best possible relief.

Muscle Pain

Muscle pain is the most common type of TMJ-related jaw pain. It’s linked most closely to myofascial pain disorder (MPD), though it can occur with other types of TMJ. Most often, this type of jaw pain occurs because your jaw muscles are overworked and get sore.

One possible reason why your jaw muscles get overworked is because you are overusing them. It might be an occasional thing, such as a time when you have to do a lot of speaking or eat an exceptional hard-to-chew meal. Perhaps you have habits that strain your jaw joints, such as chewing gum, chewing your fingernails, using your teeth as tools, such as a bottle opener or nutcracker.

Other times, muscle strain occurs because the various parts of your jaw system aren’t in balance. When your jaw muscles want to put the jaw in a certain position but your teeth and jaw joints don’t permit that, it can cause your jaw muscles to strain constantly, and they get painfully exhausted. At the same time, the pressure from your jaw muscles can damage your teeth, jaw bones, and joint structures.

Your jaw muscles extend throughout the face, from the bottom of your jaw up to the areas on the side of your head behind your eye.

Muscle pain is often felt as a dull ache in your muscles. In the early phases, TMJ-related muscle pain responds well to home care, especially the application of moist heat. If muscle tension is related to overuse or bad habits, it might resolve with rest and stopping habits that stress your muscles. However, if muscle pain is related to your jaw muscles unable to achieve a healthy rest position, the pain might not resolve until treatment puts your jaw in a comfortable position.

Joint Pain

TMJ can also cause pain in the jaw joints. Jaw joint pain is more commonly associated with disc displacement (DD) and degenerative joint disease (DJD) types of TMJ, though people with MPD might also experience joint pain. You might have joint pain in one or both joints.

When the cushioning disc is out of place, other tissues in the joint might be compressed, either between the bones of the joint or simply because the area is under pressure. In DD, when the disc is out of place, the ligaments that are supposed to hold the disc in place can get compressed. This is not just painful, it can also weaken the tissues, so they aren’t able to pull the disc back into place. When the disc can’t slip back into place, it can lead to a locked jaw.

Bone grinding in the joint can produce painful bone spurs, which stab the tissue around the joint. This creates a sharp pain in the joint that occurs with almost any movement.

Inflammation in the area can also lead to painful pressure and pinching in the jaw joint. An ice pack can provide temporary relief from many types of jaw joint pain, but the condition may require professional care for long-term relief.

Bone Pain

Bones are not as full of nerves as soft tissue in the body, but they do have some. These nerves send pain signals to the brain when the bones of the jaw are subjected to excessive force, pressure, or scraping.

You might feel pain in the bone if the bones of your jaw joint are grinding. Other times, excessive pressure on your teeth might cause bone pain, as it drives your teeth down into the bones. You might feel this as a toothache or a bone ache.

Nerve Pain

Pain-carrying nerves run complicated courses in order to reach almost every part of your body. These nerves weave in, out, and around the structures of your temporomandibular joint as well as your jaw muscles. When the joint moves out of its healthy configuration, the parts of the joint can put pressure on these nerves, typically resulting in a sharp, electric pain.

Identifying joint-related nerve pain poses some challenges. First, although the pressure on the nerve might be at our near the joint, the pain isn’t always felt there. Instead, you might feel the pain anywhere further along the nerve. We call this referred pain, when the pain is felt someplace other than its true origin. Another challenge is that sometimes the pinched nerve causes tingling and numbness (synesthesia) rather than pain.

Experienced Westchester TMJ dentist Dr. Mejia has experience handling these complicated cases, and can draw on her training to help find the true source of pain or loss of sensation.

Jaw Pain Relief in Westchester County

Are you dealing with jaw pain in Westchester County? Let us help. Please call (914) 594-6854 or use our online form today to request an appointment at Westchester TMJ & Aesthetics in Mohegan Lake, NY.