Temporomandibular joint disorder is a painful condition which a lot of people unfortunately don't know how to recognize right away, much less treat. Some brush it off as just some pain in their jaws, not realizing that they're already suffering from TMJ disorder. The symptoms of TMJ disorder affect many other things, which is why TMJ disorder sufferers can also suffer from headaches, which cause some physicians to think that what the patients have is a case of migraine.

So what is TMJ? The temporomandibular joint is the joint that connects your jaw to the skull's temporal bone, located just in front of your ears. This joint helps move the jaw smoothly whenever you eat or talk, and when this is thrown out of alignment, this causes a lot of discomfort, and symptoms that you should watch out for.

If you think you are suffering from TMJ disorder, then you should be aware of the following symptoms so you can determine it's really TMJ disorder and can then seek help from a neuromuscular dentist.

• You might hear a clicking or popping sound in your jaws every time you open your mouth widely and close it, or experience some pain around your mouth, jaws, neck, ears and even your shoulders.
• You have difficulty opening your mouth widely, and your jaws get stuck when your mouth is either open or closed.
• You experience difficulty chewing, and feel as though your top and bottom teeth aren't aligning correctly.
• Along with these symptoms, you also experience headaches, tinnitis, toothaches, and aches in your neck. The affected side of your head may also begin to swell as a result of the irritation in your joints.
  

Solutions to curing your TMJ disorder don't always have to involve surgery. You can have your jaw evaluated by a neuromuscular dentist to determine the level of treatment you should receive for your condition. Often, the treatment involves correcting your jaw's alignment with the help of a mouth appliance that can correct your bite alignment. In more extreme symptoms of TMJ disorder, your physician may recommend something more lasting and intense, such as arthroscopy, which removes the tissue that has been inflamed by your TMJ disorder and arthrocentesis, which will directly realign your jaw joint. Both treatments are performed on TMJ disorders that have resulted in actual bone scarring, bone deterioration, and even tumors.

However, you can address your TMJ disorder symptoms through other means, such as jaw exercises to help strengthen your jaw muscles again and keep it moving normally. These exercises can be accompanied by the right medication, such as pain relievers. You can also limit the amount of extreme jaw movement you make by avoiding extremely hard foods and excessive chewing--time to stop chewing too much gum and ice cubes!

Because stress is one of the causes of TMJ disorder--remember how you clench your jaw every time you're stressed?--you should try eliminating stress from your life. Try to undergo stress reduction therapy or take medication that helps you fight stress. Overall, it will be your approach to problems and pressure that will help determine how you can reduce your stress level.

Remember to consult the right doctor for your condition. If you suspect that your symptoms indicate TMJ disorder, you can ask your primary physician about any neuromuscular dentists he or she may know.