If you are dealing with jaw pain or other jaw-related issues and are unsure why, you may be able to get help from an unexpected source – your local dentist. To book a consultation to find out if a TMJ treatment could help relieve various problems that have to do with your jaw joints, call Lakewood Dental Centre at 204-977-8515 today.
We don’t just provide treatments to improve the health and look of your teeth and gums at our Winnipeg, MB dentist office. We do our best to provide as many dental treatment options as possible and some services that you probably don’t associate with a dental office. Our hope is that this will make getting the care you need as simple and convenient as possible.
For over forty years, our office has been serving patients in Winnipeg and other surrounding communities. To get some sense of how satisfied our patients typically are, check out some of our testimonials for yourself.
So finances don’t have to be a major concern when it comes to getting the treatments you need and want, we accept many forms of payment. We also make it a little easier to fit your dental appointments into your hectic schedule by providing some extended hours.
We close a little early on Fridays at 2:00 p.m., but we otherwise maintain a nine-to-five schedule in addition to opening early at 7:00 a.m. on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays and staying late until:
- 6:00 p.m. on Mondays through Thursdays
Learn Some Basics On TMJ Disorder And How We Can Treat It
TMJ is an abbreviation for “temporomandibular joint,” which is just the technical term for the incredibly complex joint where your jaw attaches to your skull. If you don’t understand what makes this joint so complicated, try moving your jaw around in several directions and see for yourself just how many ways you can move your bottom jaw.
TMJ disorders are, like your jaw joints, highly complex and difficult to understand. In fact, there is still a great deal of disagreement as to what causes TMJ disorders and how they come about in the first place. Some common phenomenon that people point to as contributing factors or at least complicating circumstances include:
- Arthritis
- Stress
- Teeth grinding
- Strain in your jaw muscles
- Trauma from some source or another that affects your jaw
Every case of a TMJ disorder manifests in ways that are unique to each patient. Some common symptoms include:
- Pain, soreness, or tenderness in your face, neck, shoulders, and/or back
- Difficulty when you try to open your mouth wide
- Grating, popping, or clicking sounds coming from your jaw when you chew or talk
- Your jaw getting stuck in the open or closed position
- Swelling of your jaw and/or through the side of your face
- An exhausted feeling throughout your face
- Trouble chewing, as if your upper and lower jaw are not fitting together as they are meant to
Teeth grinding isn’t always, but can also be, a contributor to or symptom of a TMJ disorder. In any case, if you do have a TMJ disorder and you catch yourself involuntarily grinding your teeth while sleeping or during the day, this could make your TMJ disorder symptoms worse because your jaw is working too hard and not getting a chance to rest and heal.
Because each case of a disorder involving your TMJ is totally unique, we offer several options for treatment. We may even combine a couple solutions to suit your specific case. To help us determine how to approach your issue, we will thoroughly examine you and try to figure out the extent of the problem and the location of where your jaw is functioning improperly.
In some cases, we also work with physiotherapy specialists, chiropractors, and other health professionals to settle on a treatment plan because your TMJ-related troubles could be highly complex with many complications.
Here are some of the options we may recommend as part of your totally customized treatment plan:
- The use of a TENS (Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation) unit, which can help relax your jaw and address muscle spasms
- Physiotherapy
- Dental therapy that can adjust various things, including how your jaws fit together
- A stabilization splint to prevent teeth grinding and stop migraines and headaches
To learn if a TMJ treatment could help your case, call Lakewood Dental Centre at 204-977-8515. You can also use our online form to book.