Causes of TMJ

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Probably the most common question is just what causes TMJ.

Causes of TMJ are many and varied and actually fairly self-evident -- at least to trained dentists!

While there are always unique cases, the most common causes of TMJ-related health problems are teeth grinding, nutritional factors, bad bite patterns, stress (don't underestimate this as a causal factor), life trauma, and TMJ braces or recent dental work.

Let's take each of these one by one.

Tooth Grinding

Tooth Grinding is the most common or main symptom of a TMJ-related problem.. But hold on a moment...What causes Tooth Grinding?

A number of problems contribute to it: parasites, stress, etc.

Nutrition

Most people eat so poorly one could write a whole book on the subject. Not surprisingly, nutrition is a key co-factor as well to the panoply of causes of TMJ. Nutritional factors such as eating or drinking too much caffeine, alcohol, fats, processed foods, sugar, sweets, etc. can help be contributing factors to TMJ as with many other health problems.

Any one of the Headache trigger foods identified by the National Headache Foundation can cause TMJ as well. Soy, for one, is a prime allergic food for many people and \this can be a big one. It bears mentioning due to its growing popularity.

Bad Bite

You don't have to be a vampire with a bad bite. Bad bites are one of the common causes of TMJ jaw pain. I probably make recommendations to correct my patients' bite about 20-25 percent of the time. Truly, this causes of TMJ page would not be complete without mentioning this.

Stress

Stress is the number one cause of TMJ Symptoms. That stress causes tension in the head & jaw muscles and clenching. Indeed, stress can be a huge contributing factor so don't minimize its power here.

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Trauma

Other physical trauma can cause TMJ. Car accidents where one experiencing a whiplash-like accident or event is a contributer to TMJ symptoms and may even give it a jolt to where it is a full-blown problem. If you have even the slightest suspicion that your potential TMJ symptoms are due to such an accident, see your dentist or at least your doctor.

I have to be honest in saying that while it may be sad to say, many dental patients with TMJ-like problems or symptoms were caused by wrongful dental care administered by a dentist.

Exercise

Unless one accidentally dropped a weight on themselves or fell awkwardly or something of that nature, most of the time exercise is not the fault with the development of TMJ-like symptoms. In actuality, it is due to a pronounced lack of exercise that can bring on TMJ problems.

Other Medical Issues

In truth, the most common medical problem that can cause TMJ related pain is neck and back problems (for clarity, referential pain due to TMJ issues can also exist in the upper back and neck areas as well). Also, shoulder problems can contribute to it as well.

I hope this causes of TMJ webpage has been helpful for you.

Yours in health,
David Spainhower, D.D.S.