Signs and symptoms of temporomandibular joint TMJ syndrome?-Dr. Sreenivasa Murthy T M

Largely the signs and symptoms of temperomandibular joint syndrome is formed by some problems of the dentition or how they use the teeth. The teeth would be missing, the patient would have removed the teeth due to caries or the alignment of the upper and lower teeth may not be appropriate in order to effectively chew or over a certain period of time they might have developed certain habits like abnormal postures or grinding which can cause constant stress on the joint. Other than this there could be some direct trauma to the joint which can lead to the joint getting inflamed. When the joint gets inflamed the symptoms will get spread in and around the joint. The patient can come to us with ear pain mainly because the joint is just 2 to 3mm in front of the ear. Patient is under the concept that there is a problem in the ear. It is a pain syndrome. So the patient will have pain in and around the joint. As the condition progresses it also can lead to subluxation of the joint. The joint comes out of the capsule instead of remaining in the position. This is manifested by the patient having clicking of the joint every time they open the mouth. Sometimes there is a cushion between the two surfaces which can slip out of the position and the jaw will not be able to close once they open which is called as the locked jaw. This is called as a spectrum disease wherein patient can have only pain. Ear symptoms like noise in the ear, dizziness, pain around the eyes, pain in the throat, neck, pain while chewing food, while talking on the phone or sleeping on one side of the pillow, so these are the common symptoms with respect to pain which are in the early stages and as the disease progresses they can have difficulty in opening the mouth or the jaw getting locked or severe pain which the patient will not be able to manage with regular medication.