Timeline of TMJ Treatment

Pain in your face and jaw can be excruciating. Unfortunately, this severe pain is the reality for people struggling with TMJ disorders. For some lucky patients, their symptoms dissipate without treatment, but for others, the condition can be nothing short of debilitating when symptoms persist. The temporomandibular joint (TMJ) allows you to eat, drink and speak, and when TMJ disorders affect these essential functions, it can impact your quality of life.

Understandably, people who suffer from TMJ are eager to rid themselves of these symptoms and finally feel relief. The good news is, TMJ issues are very treatable. The sooner you begin your dental treatment, the sooner you'll start to feel better.

How Long Does TMJ Treatment Take?

Like many medical conditions, there are several causes for TMJ disorders. Trauma to the neck or jaw can cause a sudden onset of TMJ symptoms. Other causes include teeth grinding, stress, arthritis, strain on the jaw, or misalignment of the teeth. For this reason, it's essential to first identify and address the underlying condition, if any can be pinpointed.  

People respond differently to varying types of treatment. As a result, the length of TMJ treatment will largely be dictated by your personal response to the treatment and the type of treatment being administered. Let's break these treatments down a little further.

Lifestyle and home remedies

With TMJ, treatment most often starts at home. It's imperative to become more aware of your tension-related habits that might be exacerbating your condition. Practices that can make TMJ worse, often include clenching your jaw, grinding your teeth, or even chewing on ice, pens, and other objects.

Simply resting your jaw, performing stretches, and massaging your jaw, applying ice packs to reduce swelling, and eating soft foods can help to alleviate TMJ pain in a matter of days. But, this is a best-case scenario; some TMJ disorders need more than just DIY at-home treatment and require a dentist to intervene.

Therapies

Cognitive behavioral therapy and biofeedback have been shown to improve symptoms for some patients with TMJ disorders. These therapies can help you understand the factors and behaviors that might be aggravating your TMJ so you can prevent them and better manage your condition.

Other non-drug therapies for TMJ disorders include the use of oral splints, which might help alleviate jaw pain because bite plates help to eliminate teeth grinding. When you grind your teeth, you put a significant strain on the jaw, and over time this strain can lead to misalignment causing jaw pain.

Addressing the behavioral and psychological factors causing your TMJ can help you manage and eliminate jaw pain relatively quickly.

Orthodontics

Dental conditions like a poor bite can also lead to TMJ issues. If this is the case for you, your dentist can correct your overbite or underbite through orthodontics, using braces, a retainer, or both.

Orthodontic treatment is typically long-term, with treatment periods lasting anywhere from 18 months to 3 years for adults and about 2 years for children. But the good news is, you won't suffer from TMJ pain all through the treatment period, as your symptoms should gradually improve over time. 

Surgery

Surgical procedures for TMJ treatment are often considered a last resort. If your jaw pain doesn't resolve with less invasive treatments, your dentist will most likely refer you to an oral or maxillofacial surgeon for treatment. While surgery is perhaps the treatment with the most arduous recovery, it's an effective solution for those with structural jaw abnormalities.

If you take the surgical intervention route, be prepared for an extended recovery period that could take up to 6 months. 

Follow-Up for TMJ

TMJ disorders can significantly impact your general well-being, and it's essential to see your dentist if you're experiencing jaw pain and other TMJ symptoms. Remember, the earlier you seek treatment, the sooner you’ll get relief from your symptoms.

At Kanehl Dental, we provide various treatment therapies designed to reduce and eliminate your TMJ pain. Our dentists can recommend the appropriate treatment to ensure you get back to normal as soon as possible. Contact us today for any questions you might have on TMJ treatment timelines.