TMJ Pain Treatment in New York City: Expert Care with Dr. Nojan Bakhtiari
Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ) disorders can cause significant discomfort and pain, affecting your quality of life. If you’re experiencing TMJ pain in New York City, you don’t have to suffer in silence. Dr. Nojan Bakhtiari, a renowned TMJ specialist, offers advanced TMJ treatment to help you find relief and restore your well-being.
Understanding TMJ Disorders
The temporomandibular joint is a complex hinge connecting your jawbone to your skull. This joint allows for the smooth movement of your jaw, enabling actions such as chewing, speaking, and yawning. TMJ disorders, often referred to as TMD, can arise from various factors.
Dr. Nojan Bakhtiari: Your TMJ Specialist in New York City
Dr. Nojan Bakhtiari is a leading TMJ specialist in New York City, known for his expertise and compassionate care. With a deep understanding of the complexities of TMJ disorders, Dr. Bakhtiari offers comprehensive treatment options tailored to each patient’s unique needs.
Temporomandibular Joint Disorder, commonly known as TMJ, is a condition that affects the jaw joint and the muscles that control jaw movement. This disorder can lead to significant discomfort and a variety of symptoms that impact daily life. For those experiencing TMJ pain, seeking expert treatment is essential. In New York City, Dr. Nojan Bakhtiari stands out as a leading TMJ specialist, offering comprehensive TMJ treatment to alleviate pain and improve quality of life.
Understanding TMJ Disorder
TMJ disorder encompasses a range of conditions affecting the temporomandibular joint, which connects the jawbone to the skull. This joint plays a crucial role in everyday activities such as speaking, chewing, and yawning. When it becomes inflamed or injured, it can cause significant pain and dysfunction. Symptoms of TMJ disorder include:
- Jaw pain or tenderness
- Difficulty chewing or discomfort while chewing
- Aching pain around the ear
- Locking of the joint, making it difficult to open or close the mouth
- Clicking or popping sounds when opening the mouth
- Headaches and neck pain
Causes of TMJ Pain
TMJ pain in New York City can be attributed to various factors, including:
- Injury to the jaw: Trauma or injury can damage the joint or the muscles around it.
- Arthritis: Inflammatory conditions such as osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis can affect the TMJ.
- Jaw misalignment: Misalignment of the teeth or jaw can place excessive stress on the TMJ.
- Bruxism: Grinding or clenching of the teeth, often due to stress or anxiety, can lead to TMJ disorders.
- Poor posture: Poor posture, particularly that which affects the neck and upper back muscles, can contribute to TMJ pain.
Expert TMJ Treatment in New York City with Dr. Nojan Bakhtiari
When experiencing TMJ pain, it is crucial to consult a specialist who understands the complexities of this condition. Dr. Nojan Bakhtiari is a renowned TMJ specialist in New York City, known for his expertise and compassionate approach to TMJ treatment. Dr. Bakhtiari offers a range of treatment options tailored to each patient’s unique needs, ensuring the best possible outcomes.
TMJ Pain & Treatment in New York City
This condition remains misunderstood despite major discoveries and advances in diagnosis and treatment. Unfortunately, many clinicians resort to guesswork or outdated treatment modalities when treating TMJ.
TMJ, or TMD (temporomandibular disorders), can be divided and grouped into muscle disorders and joint disorders. Some patients suffer from both. This is the reason why accurate diagnosis is so important to achieve optimal healing. Read more below:
What is TMJ?
TMJ is an acronym for a group of disorders pertaining the temporomandibular joint (TMJ), jaw muscles, face muscles, ligaments and associated structures. The term temporomandibular joint is derived from the temporal bone, the mandible (the lower jaw bone) and the joint that connects the two bones. Patients suffering from TMJ can experience symptoms ranging from mild to severe pain in the jaw and face, limited opening of the jaw, lock jaw, jaw clicking, jaw popping and headaches.
The pain involves the chewing muscles and jaw joints. Additionally, pain can be experienced in the area in front of the ear (the pre-auricular area) and around the ear. Most often the pain is muscular in nature and affects the chewing muscles, which include the masseter, the temporalis, and the pterygoid muscles.
The pain is usually aggravated by jaw movements such as chewing and yawning. The pain is described as achy, pressure, sharp and/or dull pain (in contrast to electric or throbbing pain, which would indicate other conditions. The painful episodes can last short periods of time, and improve on their own, or span long periods of time and become chronic.
“The pain is aggravated by jaw movements such as chewing, yawning, and others. ”
What are causes of TMJ Pain?
TMJ can have many different causes. The muscular type of TMJ disorders can be related to overuse of your chewing muscles, muscle knots (trigger points), injury, muscle enlargement, or medical comorbidities. Overuse can occur as a result of eating chewy hard foods, yawning wide, excessive talking, nail biting, and habits such as clenching or grinding your teeth. The joint related type of TMJ can be caused by injury, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, underdevelopment, or disc problems (internal derangement that result in clicking and popping sounds). The pain usually intensifies when the patient is very stressed, sleeps poorly, is anxious/depressed, or suffers from other medical problems. Medical comorbidities can include migraines, fibromyalgia, lower back pain, and past injuries to the face, head and jaw. Additionally, TMJ pain can aggravate neck pain, and vice versa. The reason for this is that the nerves that innervate the TMJ and neck directly communicate with one another in the pain centers of the brainstem.
What are the TMJ treatment options?
TMJ Treatment options vary depending on the individual suffering from TMJ and the specifics of their condition. Since TMJ/TMD can affect the musculature, tendons, bones and joint of the jaw, a thorough examination and diagnosis is paramount prior to initiating any treatment. Treatments include therapeutic injections of muscles and the joints, custom fabricated orthotics (also called splints, mouth guards, nightguards or occlusal guards), medications, creams, botox©, jaw stretching exercises, and physical therapy.
TMJ therapies should never include grinding down of otherwise healthy teeth. It is ill-advised to suggest to a patient that grinding of their otherwise healthy natural teeth is related to the TMJ pain they are perceiving. This treatment philosophy of “correcting the bite”, by either grinding down teeth (occlusal adjustments), restoring teeth with crowns, or moving teeth with braces or invisalign©, has been debunked in the dental and scientific literature.
How is TMJ diagnosed?
TMJ is best diagnosed by a thorough history, interview, and clinical examination. The clinical examination includes the TMJ specialist palpating the musculature, tendons, bones and joints of the jaw. A trained TMJ specialist will also conduct a cranial nerve screening checking for any abnormalities, evaluate your neck, and ask about headaches and sleep problems.
Depending on those findings, Dr. Bakhtiari may request diagnostic imaging (x-rays of the jaw, CT scans, or MRI) and blood tests. Diagnosis of TMJ disorders does not always require advanced and expensive imaging, and never requires expensive gadgets. While these gadgets appear impressive, they have not been shown to be objective or accurate.
Schedule Your Consultation Today
Don’t let TMJ pain control your life. If you’re in New York City and struggling with TMJ symptoms, Dr. Nojan Bakhtiari is here to help. Schedule a consultation today to explore your treatment options and take the first step toward a pain-free life.
