People who live with temporomandibular joint disorders, or TMJD, are suffering from an epidemic.
Not the kind of epidemic that’s airborne, but its impact harms those of us living with it, all the same. Unfortunately, many practitioners and the medical system as a whole are choosing to ignore it.
So, what’s this disease? A lack of well-rounded care for TMJD patients.
As a PT and myofunctional therapist, I’ve seen firsthand how the current medical system has failed patients and providers alike. There are so many stories of people who come in, desperate for relief, only to be met with band-aid solutions and dismissive attitudes.
Dental care, unfortunately, is no different.
When it comes to TMJD, your dentist might say your jaw pain is simply from stress, that you need a soft food diet — but then never gives you a timeline of when or how to come off of it.
Your dentist might also insist that a night guard is your only treatment option.
However, by prescribing a hunk of plastic and promising that TMJD will go away on its own, providers are doing a great disservice to patients. The truth is, while a night guard can protect your teeth from clenching and grinding, it does nothing to resolve what’s causing your jaw pain in the first place.
Think of it this way: if you had a leaky pipe in your kitchen, would you just slap on a piece of duct tape and call it a day? Of course not. You'd call a plumber and get to the root of the problem. It's the same thing with treating TMJD. If you don't deal with the underlying issues, you might as well put a bucket under the leak.
Okay, so to clear the air, let me just say that I am not against using oral appliances like night guards. There are many types, and they do serve a purpose. What I am against, however, is healthcare providers not addressing the root cause of why you’re having jaw pain and other oral issues.
For instance, if you clench and grind and you’re given a soft night guard – I believe that’s just the wrong care for TMJD. You’re basically given something that you’re just going to chew on for the entire night, and that can make your jaw pain a lot worse. Not to mention, the thing will more than likely get mangled over time, which means you’ll have to go and shell out more cash for one replacement after another!
And maybe you’ve had chronic migraines for years. You’ve clenched and ground through every night guard known to humankind, but no one has ever told you to get a sleep study.
Or let’s say you go to a specialist to get a TMJ orthotic, but you weren’t given any education on how the muscles work together and how to correct their imbalances.
This lack of education and quality care is exactly what I’m against. It’s so frustrating to see patients come to me after years of suffering because no one would listen to them and end up shuffled around from one provider to the next with no real answers or relief.
I know this agony personally, because I’m a patient of TMJD, myself. I know what it’s like not to be heard. I know how it feels to have your pain minimized and invalidated.
Your pain is not all in your head. Self advocacy is tough, but it’s necessary when it comes to misinformation in the medical field. You know your body best, and working with practitioners who are willing to listen and learn will make all the difference to getting you the care you need and deserve.
It’s time for education around the TMJ to improve.
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