TMD/ TMD Symptoms

San Ramon, California and Surrounding Areas

Temporomandibular joint disorder (TMD) can cause a wide variety of symptoms, which appear and combine differently in each person, depending on exactly how they're being caused.

Part of the problem of TMD symptoms is that they're sometimes dismissed as being "psychological" or "imagined". Typically, a doctor will not determine their source as being dental. Painkillers may be prescribed, and temporary relief will certainly feel like a blessing. Headaches are the most common symptom. They can be severe and are often misdiagnosed as migraines. You can take pain medication each time, but wouldn't it be better to find their cause and eliminate them altogether?

The symptoms can affect the jaw itself, as well as the entire face and head, the neck and shoulders, and even the arms and hands. This is because several major sensory nerves run through the face and head, with many branches. When there's long-term tension in the jaw muscles, inflammation builds up in all the related tissues: the ligaments, nerves and bones as well as the muscles.

Here are some links with more information on each symptom.

• Headaches (migraines)
• Jaw pain, popping sounds and limited movement
• Facial pain, sore teeth, and ringing in the ears
• Neck and shoulder pain, and tingling or numbness
  in the arms and hands
• Depression and fatigue

If you have any of these symptoms and would like to learn whether their cause might be a dental one, please contact us for an initial consultation. Dr. Anderson will be glad to listen to your concerns, and answer questions, and together you can determine what might be the best step to take next. Don't suffer that pain indefinitely, because there is a remedy.

925.837.4486