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Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) Awareness Month offers a mile marker in the year to acknowledge and help the 30 million Americans1 afflicted with bruxism and temporomandibular disorders (TMD), also known as TMJ Syndrome. This includes unearthing risk factors, incidence rates, root triggers, and what happens if bruxism and TMJ are left untreated-and perhaps most important-implementing successful solutions for treatment.
How we got here
As a general dental practitioner, I value the eye of my dental assistants when it comes to determining signs of TMD, and advise other professionals in the field to expand their knowledge as to why cases have risen exponentially in the past several months. This practice provides patients with the highest caliber of care surrounding this highly prevalent, complex disease that is often largely misrepresented to patients and the public at large. Earlier this year, the American Dental Association reported that more than 70% of dentists had seen an increase in teeth grinding and clenching among patients, and more than 60% of dentists said they've seen a rise in TMJ disorder symptoms in their patients.2 There are three main theories as to causes:
1.Delay in diagnosis: Early in the pandemic, there was an unprecedented delay in nonemergency dental services which coincided with the postponement of the usual diagnosis and treatment of non-COVID illnesses and diseases across the country. As a result, bruxism and TMD cases were left largely undiagnosed and untreated. This led to the exacerbation of many cases, in turn leading to a need for...