Are you experiencing sudden jaw pain or soreness that you haven’t experienced before? This could be due to a number of reasons, however the current Coronavirus outbreak could be a factor. If you’ve transitioned to working from home during this uncertain time, you’re probably spending long hours staring at your computer—and you may not have your comfy office chair to help your posture. These problems are significant on their own, but they can also contribute to your jaw pain. Read on to learn about this surprising relationship and how an effective treatment called TMJ therapy in Tyler can help!
But First, What is TMJ Disorder?
The temporomandibular joints (TMJ) are muscles and joints that control your jaw—where your jaw meets your skull. When they become inflamed, it can cause serious pain and dysfunction, including symptoms like:
- Jaw pain or tenderness
- Aching pain in the ear
- Headaches
- Facial pain
- Difficulty opening or closing the mouth
- Pain in one or both of the TMJ joints
Jaw Pain and Working from Home
If your jaw pain in Tyler started happening while working from home, it could be due to these key factors:
Posture
How are you working? Are you sitting up straight at a desk? When you’re hunched over, some of your shoulder muscles begin to work much harder and this strain extends to your neck. Combine this with staring at your computer, and it actually increases jaw mobility, creating discomfort in the jaw joints.
Stress
Has working from home increased your stress levels? This can lead to teeth grinding, which puts increased pressure on your jaw joints, leading to higher risk of TMJ disorder. Plus, this will wear away your enamel.
Break in Routine
Before working from home, you had a routine that kept you active, but also eating at the same time. Without your normal day to day, lack of activity can end up causing more stress as well as dysfunction in the jaw joints.
Effective TMJ Therapy
Thankfully, your dentist offers TMJ therapy to help get you out of pain and back to comfort! This is through the use of custom-made oral appliances. Your dentist can create a mouthpiece that adjusts the jaw to make a better bite relationship, relieving your TMJ joints of stress and pain. There are also a variety of other options your dentist can provide, including physical therapy, ultrasound therapy, electrical stimulation, light therapy and more!
Are you ready to speak, eat, and smile with comfort once more? Contact your dentist for TMJ therapy and get back to your normal self even while working from home.
Meet the Dentist
Dr. Tad Morgan is a highly trained dentist with over 1,000 hours of continuing education. He offers a variety of dental treatments that you won’t find at the typical practice, including TMJ therapy. If you have any questions, or if you want to schedule a consultation, he can be contacted through his website or by phone at (903) 825-1112.