Is Teeth Grinding Responsible For Your TMJ Pain?

When you start to experience TMJ problems, you can be surprised – and alarmed – by how often this discomfort intrudes on your typical day. The issue can interfere with your meals, as it can become difficult to bite and chew. It can also create problems for you whenever you speak or laugh. There are several issues that can lead to problems with the joints and muscles that you rely on for jaw movement. If you have a tendency to grind your teeth, particularly if you are grinding or clenching at night, you can start to struggle with this difficulty while also developing problems with dental wear and tear. At our North Hollywood, CA dentist’s office, we can work with you to ease the pain you experience throughout the day due to your TMJ problems. We are also able to evaluate your smile and recommend different treatments for dental wear and tear that may have affected your smile.

Recognizing The Potential Harm Done By Teeth Grinding

If you are grinding your teeth on a regular basis, you can put enough strain on your jaw to affect the joints, and to create problems for the muscles responsible for movement. This is concerning on its own – after all, we rely on these joints and muscles often in a typical day, so you can find that pain becomes a persistent part of your life. Unfortunately, teeth grinding can do more than just affect you in this way. In time, the friction from grinding and clenching can hurt your teeth, eventually wearing them down. In some cases, patients will experience chipping, and may be vulnerable to the formation of cracks in their enamel.

Resolving Tension And Misalignment Issues Affecting Your Jaw

In order to reduce the pain of TMJ disorder, we can review your difficulties and look at what the right approach to resolving them might be. In many cases, appliance therapy is beneficial. With a custom-made oral appliance, your jaw joints can have their alignment gently changed to ease tension. If the issue requires more support, we can look into physical therapy, jaw realignment, and even oral surgery.

Jaw problems can make every day difficult, and treating them can have a big impact on your quality of life. By offering different options, including more involved work, we can help to ensure that these issues stop impacting you!

What If Teeth Grinding Has Already Damaged Your Smile?

If it is too late to prevent damage from grinding, we can review different options for treating your smile. Through the right cosmetic dental procedure, we can make conservative changes to your tooth structure while giving you lasting smile improvements. Porcelain veneers can be put in place to change the shape, size, and even color of your teeth so that a history of grinding no longer impacts the way you look.

Discuss Pain And Teeth Grinding Issues At Modern Smiles!

Modern Smiles is prepared to help patients who are struggling with jaw pain, stiffness, and teeth grinding. If you want to learn more, or if you wish to discuss treatment to restore damaged teeth, call Modern Smile in North Hollywood, CA, today at 818-763-9353.