The 3 Stages Of TMD Treatment
You may already know what a relief it is to be diagnosed with TMD when you’ve been suffering with painful symptoms for years, having found no satisfying answers and likely being misdiagnosed, sometimes repeatedly. But what are the next steps? Because TMD looks and feels different for every patient, treatment does as well. However, there are three general stages you can expect in your treatment plan.
Keep reading for more information.
Treating TMD
Once you’ve been definitively diagnosed with a TMJ disorder, we’ll outline your custom treatment plan and walk you through each step. We will also keep tabs on your treatment progress and make adjustments if needed to maximize the benefits of your therapy. We generally work in three stages:
- Relieve symptoms and stabilize: The initial goal is to reduce pain, inflammation, and improve jaw function. We may recommend self-care, like heat or ice packs and relaxation techniques, and changing your diet to avoid foods that will trigger a flareup. You may also need an over-the-counter pain reliever, muscle relaxant, or anti-inflammatory medication during this stage of treatment.
It’s at this point that we’ll likely talk about a custom oral appliance to stabilize your jaw and reduce the impact of grinding and clenching. We may also prescribe physical therapy, including exercises to improve jaw mobility and muscle strength, and stress management to address the emotional and psychological triggers that can make TMD symptoms worse.
- Address underlying issues and improve function: The next step in your treatment plan may be to correct your jaw alignment and stabilize function. The goal here is to provide long-term relief. Your treatment plan may include orthodontics to realign your bite and reduce strain on the TMJ. In some cases, we may need to restore or replace teeth to correct bite issues and alleviate undue stress on the jaw joints.
If you have a damaged or malfunctioning TMJ, we may recommend a minor procedure to flush out debris, remove damaged tissue, or reposition the disc. In very severe cases of TMD, we will recommend surgery, but this is rare and only necessary in the most advanced stages of the disease.
- Maintenance: Once your jaw is working and feeling great consistently, we will recommend that you continue to practice good oral hygiene and jaw health habits. If your doctor has prescribed regular exercises or other therapies to keep your jaw joint functioning and pain free, you’ll need to keep up with them. We’ll also check on you periodically to make sure you don’t experience any setbacks, such as teeth shifting out of place after ortho treatment, that could prompt a recurrence. During this stage of TMD treatment, it’s important to keep thinking about your habits, like maintaining good posture, avoiding actions that aggravate your jaw, and managing stress.
Early Intervention Is Key
If you’re already in treatment for TMD, congratulations! We hope it’s going well. If you’ve been diagnosed but aren’t sure how to proceed, we can help. The sooner you start treatment the better. Early intervention can prevent your TMJ disorder from progressing and keep your treatment plan simple.
Call one of our offices, located in Bellevue, Silverdale, and Federal Way, WA, if you have questions about your current treatment plan or want treatment recommendations based on your recent diagnosis. We’ll get you on your way to relief in no time!
