Nothing impacts your life in the worst way quite like pain. It doesn’t even matter if it’s emotional, psychological, or physical. Pain is awful, and its effects can be far-reaching, especially if it becomes an ongoing issue.
When you suffer from chronic pain, especially, it adds stress to your life that you simply do not need. The responsibilities of daily life are stressful enough. To make matters worse, there are certain kinds of chronic pain that stress works very closely with in a seemingly endless, miserable cycle.
Take temporomandibular joint disorder, or TMD, for example. Commonly referred to as TMJ, this disorder brings a whole host of painful symptoms that are worsened by stress. But you’re stressed because you’re in pain. But you’re in pain because you’re stressed. But….. you see where this is going?
That’s kind of how the cycle works. If you could somehow minimize the stress in your life, your TMJ probably wouldn’t be as bad. But if your TMJ weren’t so bad, you’d probably feel less stressed. Where does it end?!
That’s the good news. You can make an appointment at Restorative & Implant Dentistry in Pompano Beach, FL. Our experienced dentists, Dr. Slootsky and Dr. Baez, can help you find relief from TMJ symptoms so you can get back to enjoying life.

The Pain Of TMJ Affects More Than Your Jaw

If you were to feel around your jaw just underneath each earlobe with your fingertips, there you’ll find the temporomandibular joints. These joints are in nearly constant motion throughout the day. Think about all the ways they’re used: eating, speaking, drinking, yawning, laughing… you name the action, those guys are always working behind the scenes.
It makes sense, then, that TMD can negatively affect your life as much as it does. If your jaw is always moving, imagine what that pain in your jaw is going to do to you day in and day out! There is almost no activity you’d be able to fully enjoy if you were suffering pain and discomfort at the same time.
Here’s another fun fact about TMD. The pain that comes with it isn’t satisfied with just the jaw. It can cause pain and muscle tension further into your neck, shoulders, and upper back. As if that weren’t enough to deal with everyday, it can also lead to pain and ringing in your ears.
But wait! There’s more!
How could we forget those debilitating headaches and migraines? And if you’re really, really lucky, TMD can ultimately lead to lockjaw. That’s no big deal… except it means you can’t open or close your mouth.
You might also find comfort in the next bit of TMD wonder. It can be associated with bruxism, which is a fancy term for grinding your teeth. This is something you might do throughout the day when your body or mind is tense, so often, you don’t even realize you’re doing it. You might even do it at night while you sleep. All the teeth grinding can cause damage to your teeth over time if left untreated.
Lovely, right?

How Does Stress Relate To TMJ Disorder?

Now, the good news is that your body is an amazing, self-healing machine. All these joints and muscles need is a little rest from being so overworked. The problem, though, is that all these uncomfortable symptoms make it nearly impossible to relax!
And just like Rose in Titanic, the TMJ-Stress cycle of misery will go on and on ….  and on. The best way out is to find treatment that will effectively end it for good. Start by calling our Pompano Beach dental office today!

Make An Appointment With Us Today!

Let us help you find the answers to your TMD pain. We offer treatments such as cranial-sacral therapy, muscle release therapy, and we can even fit you for a bite appliance to help prevent the teeth grinding that’s often tangled up in the painful mess of TMD. We’ll help you figure out the right treatment for you so you can get back to living pain-free once again.
Give us a call today at 954-590-0538 or fill out our online form to schedule an appointment and find out which procedure is right for you!