- Does your jaw make popping, clicking or grating sounds when it moves?
- Do you have trouble opening and/or shutting your mouth? Does your jaw feel stiff, tired or catch or lock in certain positions? Are you able to open your mouth as wide as usual?
- Do you have jaw aches and pain? Earaches, headaches, toothaches and neck and shoulder pain?
- Are you experiencing ear-related symptoms such as stuffy ears, hearing loss, dizziness or problems with balance?
- Are you a woman taking birth control or post-menopausal estrogen?
If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, you may be suffering from temporomandibular joint disorder.
A Milwaukee, Wisconsin newspaper article from late 2010 tells the story of Heidi Clark, a woman suffering from Temporomandibular Joint Disorder (TMD) who has been in and out of operating rooms since 1988. Repeated failed jaw implant surgeries, wherein jaw implants fractured, embedded in her muscles, and caused her unimaginable pain lead to inquiries into FDA procedures regarding TMD and its treatment, financial conflicts of interest that affected research outcomes, questionable TMJ jaw implant manufacturers, and action taken against the surgeons who performed the surgeries.
Sound scary? That’s because it is. TMD is a condition involving the temporomandibular joint, bone and cartiledge resembling a ball-and-socket that sits right above your ear canal on either side of your head. When the joint slips out of position, pain can result, and TMD is characterized by clicking or popping of the jaw when you open or close your mouth, persistent headaches, and sometimes chronic pain.
TMD is widespread. According to the National Pain Foundation, 75% of the United States population has experienced one or more signs or symptoms of TMJ. Many of those suffering have symptoms that come and go over time, but 5-12% of people have more severe symptoms and should seek treatment (Lipton et al., 1993; Dworkin et al., 1990; Svensson et al, 2001; Duckro et al., 1990). Women are twice as likely to experience TMD as men are, and physicians and dentists agree that the condition is one with a number of contributing factors.
Heidi Clark is not alone. Countless other stories of temporomandibular joint treatment resulting in disfigurement and death have been reported by newspapers and watchdog organizations across the country as far back as the initial identification of the condition by the medical and dental communities approximately 30 years ago.
Think you or a loved one might have TMD? Don’t worry. Over the next eleven weeks we will be exploring TMD, its causes, conditions that often accompany it, and your options for treatment—all in terminology you can understand.
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