The temporomandibular joint is located in front of your ear where your skull and jaw bone meet and work like a hinge to let you move your jaw back & forth, left & right. TMJ is responsible for speaking, eating, chewing and yawning. It is an extremely complex joint and when there is a misalignment in TMJ, it can develop TMJ disorder or TMD.
TMJ disorder can make your jaw stiff or restrict the movement of the jaw; one can feel pain in the jaw as well. There are a lot of ways to treat TMJ disorder but if one cannot get relief from these means for him/her TMJ surgery is the only way to restore their jaw alignment.
Who should seek surgical treatment for TMJ?
If you have severe symptoms of TMJ disorder and your day to day life is disturbed by the pain associated by the TMJ disorder then you must seek medical help. Your doctor or dentist will make a detailed check-up and then treat you according to your symptoms. The circumstances under which he can ask for surgical treatment if TMJ are.
If you are feeling intense pain in your jaw regularly then he may advise you to treat your TMJ disorder by surgery.
You are not able to open and close your mouth due to intense pain.
You are not able to open your mouth and chew food due to pain in your jaw.
The pain in your jaw is getting worse day by day or you are not able to move your jaw so he can advise you to go for surgery.
Your jaw is misaligned due to any injury, latest dental surgery or due to any other reason.
TMJ Disorder Surgical Procedures
When other oral and therapy methods to treat TMJ fail, your doctor can suggest you for surgical procedures.
Arthrocentesis: This is the process in which a fluid is inserted through the needles into the joint to remove inflammatory by-products and debris. This is the minimally invasive and less painful procedure to treat TMJ disorder. For this, you don’t need to stay in hospital and the recovery is quick and easy.
TMJ arthroscopy: This process is as effective as open surgery to treat many kinds of TMJ disorders. In such kind of surgery, a small and thin tube is placed in the joint space, a small kind of device is used to insert an arthroscope. As compared to the open joint surgery, TMJ arthroscopy has low risks and complications.
Modified condyloma: This surgery is done on the mandible instead of joint hence it is indirect surgery treatment of TMJ. But, this surgery is helpful in treating the pain associated with TMJ and locking jaws.
Disc repositioning: This is a more complex procedure than the previous ones. As the name suggests your doctor will put the disc back at the right place and then stitches it. You might need to stay at the hospital for a few days in this procedure.
Open-joint surgery: If you are not relieved by the other conservative treatments of the TMJ then your dentist might suggest you open joint surgery to treat your jaw or replace the joint. The surgery is more complex than other treatments and has many risks. While your doctor may suggest you this he/she will discuss all the pros and cons of open joint surgery. For this, you need to stay in the hospital for a few days but the recovery is slow and difficult.
When your doctor suggests you surgical treatment for TMJ, discuss the risks and benefits associated with that surgery to him/her.
For more help managing your TMJ disorder, contact the trusted team Advanced Dental Implant and TMJ Center . You can visit their website or call them at (662) 655 -4868 to ask questions or to schedule an appointment.