What is Facial Pain?
Facial Pain involves jaw clenching or teeth grinding that can cause pain in the mastication and articulation muscles.
They can occur for several reasons, including trauma as a result of an accident or injury, joint disease, malocclusions, psychological stress, and more.
TMJ (Temporomandibular Joint) Disorder is classified as a masticatory disorder and occurs when there is a disturbance between the articular disc and the condyle (head of the mandible). Depending on your issue and your dentist's diagnosis, a multidisciplinary treatment approach may include physiotherapy, a bite plate and surgery.
Facial Pain can also lead to orofacial pain which includes, by definition, pain that originates from oral structures accompanied by facial pain.
Facial Pain Treatment
At Carrefour Dentaire de Montréal, our dentists typically take a multidisciplinary approach to treating masticatory disorders such as TMJ Disorder. Initial treatment includes attempting to eliminate muscle spasms and joint pain. If this is not effective, the following may be used:- Medications or infiltrations
- At-home care
- Stress management techniques
- Physiotherapy or osteopathy
- Bite plate (clear plastic device worn at night that helps to relax the jaw muscles, reduce pain and prevent premature wear of teeth)
- Equilibration, orthodontics or surgery (in severe cases or if initial treatment does not yield expected results)
Facial Pain Symptoms
Masticatory Disorders can cause a host of painful symptoms because your compromised jaw muscles need to work extra hard to do their job. Common symptoms include:
- Grinding or clenching teeth during the day or night
- Jaw stiffness upon waking
- Frequent headaches
- Joint pain or cracking increased by stress
- Finding it difficult or painful to open your mouth
- Unusual or different teeth positions on closing your mouth
- Pain when chewing certain foods
If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, contact us for a proper diagnosis.