Kick it to the Curb! TMJ Pain in Elgin.

Have you discovered your fingers massaging the tightness of your jaw? Are headaches a regular part of your life? TMJ leads many Elgin residents to select descriptive words like “locking” or “popping” when describing, not moves in hip-hop dancing, but occurrences encountered while chewing. Is this healthy?

To understand your jaw better, undertake this brief experiment. While standing relaxed, note your arms hanging loosely by your sides. They don’t touch at any point except the upper joint. Now press your arms tight to your body and hold the position. What do you feel after 10 seconds? Half a minute? Five minutes?

The growing fatigue you notice is because your muscles have lost their natural position of rest and are now working to hold a position. Your jaw operates on a similar principle. Its rest position exists when the upper and lower teeth are nottouching, but suspended fractionally apart. Aside from the brief moments when you speak, eat or swallow, these muscles should remain relaxed and at rest. However, if due to an accident, stress or other causes your jaws muscles lose their ability to find this position of rest, you will experience muscle fatigue, dysfunction or spasm. How serious is this?

Teeth that clench or grind antagonistically without food to buffer the forces can become worn or fractured. Too, overactive muscles become tight and painful, leading many sufferers to continuously seek pain medication. Is there another solution?

Dr. Lodding at Smile for Life Dental has studied the intricacies of this part of the human anatomy and can help pinpoint the cause of your TMJ pain! Elgin sufferers arrange a consult today and discover solutions worthy of returning a smile to your face!