Do you Answer "Yes" To Any of the Following Questions:
* Do you have recurring or chronic headaches? (stress headaches, tension headaches, sinus headaches, morning headaches, migraine headaches?)
* Does you have neck pain or shoulder pain? Frequent stiff necks especially in the morning?
* Do you hear popping, clicking or cracking sounds when you open and close your jaw?
* Do you hear a grating sound (like gravel or sand paper) in your jaw joint when you open and close, or open wide to yawn?
* Do you have stuffiness, pressure or blockage in your ears? Sharp pain in your ears? Or dulled hearing or hearing loss?
* Do you hear a ringing or buzzing sound in either or both of your ears?
* Do you have crooked, missing, "bucked" or crowded teeth? Or a cross-bite where your lower back teeth cross over to a position outside of your upper back teeth?
* Do you have an overbite? When you close your teeth together if you cover half or more of your lower front teeth with your upper front teeth you have a deep overbite. Or do you have a deep over jet? If your lower front teeth do not touch the back of your upper front teeth (lower arch of teeth is set back to far, usually showing itself as a smaller chin) you have a deep over jet which also causes TMJ problems.
* Do you experience dizziness (vertigo) frequently? Is your spacial awareness or balance not as keen as you think it should be? Do you bump into things, spill things, or knock things over on a regular basis? Are you not comfortable with heights because of it?
* Do your jaws feel tight or difficult to open? Limited opening usually indicates a dislocation of the jaw, or severe muscle tightness. You should be able to open 45-55mm when measured from the top edge of your lower front teeth to the biting edge of the upper front teeth. If you can't and you have some of the other symptoms listed on this site you mostly likely have TMJ.
* Do your jaws ache or feel fatigued after eating or having dental work done?
* Do your teeth ache or are they sensitive to hot, cold, or pressure? Have broken off teeth in the back of you mouth requiring crowns, or root canals?
* Do you wake up in the morning with sore facial muscles, tight neck, and or sensitive teeth?
* Do you clench or grind your teeth while you are asleep, frustrated or under stress? This generates the headaches and neck pain while you sleep, and prevents you from reaching the deeper levels of sleep resulting in chronic fatigue and depression from the pain as well.
* Do you suffer from sleep loss, depression, decreased energy, or chronic fatigue as a result of any of the above symptoms?
* Are your eye teeth (cuspids or canines) worn off on the tip? They should come to a point and should not be flat across. Your upper front teeth should not be worn or tattered across the front either. If they are it means you are grinding them down during sleep, and you most likely have TMJ.
* Have you been hit in the jaw or had a whiplash injury? Just a soccer ball in the jaw is enough of a blow to dislocate the meniscus in the joint and cause a TMJ or TMD problem.
* Is it hard to use your front teeth to bite or tear food? You may have an open bite which means your guidances systems do not engage as they should, and you are very prone to TMJ.
* Have you been told that you might have TMJ by your dentist or hygienist?
The more times you answered "Yes" to any of the above questions, the more likely it is that you have a TM disorder. It may be in your best interest for you to schedule an appointment to see me to find out if you are a candidate for TMJ treatment.
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