Are you experiencing jaw pain? Do you experience headaches and neck pain that you feel is coming from your jaw? Did you know that Chiropractors help with jaw pain?

There are many causes of jaw pain, many of them are what we call biomechanical – this means they are related to muscle or joint function. In these cases, chiropractic care can be very effective.

TEMPOROMANDIBULAR DISORDER

Temporomandibular disorder (TMD) is a term used to encompass a wide variety of acute or chronic conditions of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ). The TMJ is the joint on each side of your jaw that connects your bottom jaw to your top jaw. These conditions can affect one or both TMJ, the jaw muscles and/or the facial nerves. 

TMD is very common, and something we see to some extent in many of our patients. Causes can include:

• Injury/trauma to the jaw
• Grinding your teeth, especially at night
• Clenching your jaw, particularly in times of stress
• Nail biting
• Prolonged opening of the jaw, such as a recent dentist visit
• Infections
• Degenerative joint disease
• Autoimmune disorders
• Misaligned bite
  

There are many symptoms of TMD, including:

• Pain in and around the ear
• Constant jaw pain
• Jaw pain when eating or yawning
• Clicking in the jaw when opening or closing your mouth 
• Reduced range of motion
• Locking of the joint, making it hard to open or close your mouth
• Headaches 
• Neck pain 
• Sometimes ringing in the ears and dizziness

HOW CAN CHIROPRACTIC CARE HELP WITH JAW PAIN?

Our chiropractors are highly experienced in treating jaw pain. Before any treatment is offered, we will perform a full assessment to identify the cause of your jaw pain and the most appropriate treatment options for you. Depending on what the underlying cause is, chiropractic treatment may be beneficial in reducing pain, improving your range of motion, and improving jaw function. 

Chiropractic care for jaw pain can include:

• Mobilisations to the TMJ
• Muscle release for the muscles on both the inside and outside of the mouth
• Dry Needling (one of our chiropractors, Dr Jed, has a special interest in dry needling for jaw pain)
• Jaw specific exercises
• Neck adjustments or mobilisations, and soft tissue release
• Lifestyle advice, including stress management
• Sometimes further workup or co-management with a dentist is required. This will be discussed with you at your appointment

HOW LONG UNTIL I SEE RESULTS?

Jaw pain can be a complex issue, and the time frame to seeing a sustained change is different for each individual person. It can depend on many factors such as your lifestyle, how long you have had your jaw pain, the cause of your jaw pain, and any other underlying conditions. Our chiropractors will be able to discuss this and individualised treatment with you at the time of your appointment. 

Head to our blog on how many chiropractic sessions do I need for more information. 

If you are experiencing jaw pain and would like to see if Chiropractic Care can help, you can call us on (08) 9275 6095 or book an appointment online.