OROFACIAL PAIN AND OCCLUSION
WHAT IS TEMPOROMANDIBULAR DISORDER?
Temporomandibular dysfunction (TMD) is a generic term used to describe musculoskeletal disorders that affect the temporomandibular joint (joint responsible for opening and closing the mouth), chewing muscles and related structures.
It is the second most common cause of orofacial pain, second only to toothache.
The most common symptoms associated with TMD are:
- Pain in the face; pain in the chewing muscles;
- Noises in the joint, clicking and crepitus (when moving the mouth);
- Difficulty opening or closing the mouth, called “jaw locking”;
- TMD pain can also occur as ear pain and tinnitus;
- Headache and migraines; difficulty chewing;
- Tooth wear or tooth hypersensitivity;
- Ear fullness (feeling of a blocked ear).
BRUXISM
Bruxism and clenching are conditions in which teeth grinding or excessive clenching occurs.
This behavior can be potentially harmful to stomatognathic structures (muscles, temporomandibular joint and teeth).
TMD comprises two main groups of dysfunction:
- Intra-articular TMD and Masticatory Muscle Disorder.
It is worth mentioning that these two groups comprise different diagnoses of TMD intra-articular and masticatory muscle disorders.
