What’s Causing Your TMJ Disorder

A recent TMD Diagnosis and chronic online scrolling is almost never enough to get you the kind of clarity on exactly what it is that is causing this little jaw bone of yours to hurt, pop and lock so much.

Some say it is your bite, some say it is an imbalance; while another person says that jaw clicking is very normal. What is true? How to work on it? The questions and information online is overwhelming in itself.

So, let me walk you through some of the causes for a TMJ Disorders.

• Imbalanced Occlusal Forces – When your biting forces are not balanced, your jaw bones and muscles undergo excessive strain
• Abnormal Maxillary and Mandibular Relationship – When the relationship between your upper and lower jaw is not ideal, there is an uneven loading of the TMJ and muscles.
• Hyperactive Masticatory Muscles – When the muscles around your mouth are hyperactive, they undergo excessive strain becoming fatigued and stiff.
• Constricted Airway – A weak airway causes mouth breathing, sleep related jaw clenching, poor tongue posture and muscular hyperactivity.
• Asymmetric Mandibular Condyle – Asymmetry in the jaw bone can cause uneven loading of your joints on chewing, ultimately causing an imbalance.
• Hypermobile TMJ – Higher range of movement of the jaw joint can cause additional stress on the supporting ligaments and muscles.
• Parafunctional habits – Movement of the jaw other than while eating like Clenching, Grinding, nail biting, gum chewing, or chewing on pens place repetitive forces on the jaw beyond normal function.
• Emotional Stress – Stress, anxiety often increase to habits like unconscious jaw clenching and jaw grinding making TMJ Symptoms worse.
• Posture – The jaw, neck, and shoulder muscles work as one functional unit. Poor posture can alter muscle activity and contribute to jaw pain and dysfunction.
• Trauma – A direct blow to the jaw, facial injury, whiplash, or prolonged forceful mouth opening can damage the joint or surrounding muscles and trigger TMJ symptoms.

Remember, not everyone with these factors develops TMJ, and not every TMJ patient has all of them. The key to successful treatment isn’t simply managing the pain, it is to identify which combination of factors is responsible for your symptoms and addressing them individually.