Your TMJ temporomandibular joint is responsible for connecting the lower jaw to the upper jaw and the skull. Pain in this area can cause tenderness in your jaw muscles, jaw clicking, earaches, and headaches.
This can disrupt your daily activities. If you want to know how your dentist can help with your TMJ pain, here are the details. Temporomandibular joint pain can cause the jaw to dislocate. It can also cause the misalignment of teeth. One of the effective ways a dentist can help patients with TMJ pain is through massage. The friction massage provides pressure on the area. Some patients find this enough for relief. This type of massage needs proper technique. The dentist can show the patient how to do it.
Locating the mandible muscle is the first thing to do. This is in the lower part of the jaw along the jawline. Applying constant and gentle pressure using the index finger comes next.
The patient can experiment with the right amount of pressure. The kneading massage gives a consistent circular pressure on the muscles and joints. Locating the upper jaw muscles comes first. These are behind the molars below the cheekbone. It is the flat bony plane toward the ear. The patient will massage the area in a circular motion using two to three fingers. This improves lymph circulation, increases blood flow, and warms up the muscles.
This helps expel toxic waste in that area. The patient will keep doing this until relief in the TMJ sets in. The stretching massage involves placing two fingers of one hand along the lower jaw. Then, the two fingers of the other hand go above the muscles of the upper jaw. Pressing the fingers together until the tips are between these muscles comes next. Holding them for about three seconds and then relaxing them ends the massage.
