Increased Number of Jaw Pain Patients Highlights the Need for Early Care
Jaw Sprain/Strain? Acute TMJ problem? Orofacial Therapeutics has a care plan that is easy to use, easy to purchase, and easy for healthcare providers to offer.
Repeatedly over the last year, we see articles describing the higher rate of jaw pain, clenching, stress, and headache. Is the incidence rate higher, or is it the case that people are struggling with uncertainty more and this makes functioning with jaw pain even harder? Some people are asking – “Can a TMJ disorder can be fixed“?
Among the many ways that COVID-19 has altered lives in the United States and globally, dentists are reporting more patients who are experiencing broken or cracked teeth. They may not even identify at first that it is a result of the stress we’re experiencing. Subconscious clenching or grinding of the teeth often goes unnoticed, but with head, neck or jaw pain this is the body’s natural response to injury or underlying conditions.
Pain or limited range of motion may be due to an acute jaw sprain, which is a common temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorder. Unless people with jaw pain hear about treatment options and where to go for care, too often appropriate clinical management for trauma to the jaw is delayed. Patients are told to rest at home, but the pain is distracting or makes simple chewing, smiling, and talking difficult. Extended periods of undiagnosed pain can leave a person functioning on a lower level or even may trigger depression and feelings of helplessness.
TMD and TMJ Treatments Relieve Jaw, Head & Neck Pain
Dr. Eric Farmer at Clinical Mastery Series highlights QuickSplint uses in general dentistry
We want patients and primary care providers to understand why a simple solution for jaw pain is needed. With better information, people can be aware of jaw sprain/strain that can develop from a host of causes ranging from minor (big yawn, biting something hard) to an injury such as slip and fall, sports injury, or a long dental procedure.
Jaw sprain/strain at its acute stage should be treated, like other joints, with simple conservative care that supports healing over a 2-to-4-week period. Unfortunately, most people do nothing because they are not sure whether this is a medical or dental condition. Here is a relevant story:
Mary woke up a few weeks ago with a restricted jaw opening, and went to her primary care doctor who sent her to the ER. There she was given pain medication, muscle relaxants, and anxiety meds. She searched the internet for any alternatives to the medications, to bring relief. She was referred to an oral surgeon. He sent her to an orofacial pain clinic. On her first appointment, she was given the Speed2Treat Home Healing Kit and started treatment immediately.
Mary said the Kit included all the self-care measures she had researched, and thankfully the Kit was well organized and came with step-by-step instructions and videos. The Speed2Treat Home Healing Kit was a fraction of the cost of the trip to the ER and evaluation by the oral surgeon. Dentists who use our S.A.F.E Protocol for dental offices understand the difference this treatment can make in reducing jaw pain symptoms.
Many Suffering from Jaw Pain are Unaware of Options
This story has been repeated before. The team at Orofacial Therapeutics is passionate about closing the treatment gap in care for TMD disorders. As documented by the National Institute of Health (NIH) and National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine, jaw pain sufferers need to be more aware of their treatment options and how to access care.
“Misjudgments and a failure to understand the nature and depths of TMDs can have severe consequences – more pain and more suffering – for individuals, their families, and our society,” states their Temporomandibular Disorders (TMD): From Research Discoveries to Clinical Treatment report.
According to the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), prompt diagnosis of TMJ disorders does not happen enough because primary care providers have not been consistently trained in how to provide simple care options or how to differentiate and refer higher-risk patients to specialists. Doctors and dentists start with an examination of the head, neck and jaw, looking for any jaw movement difficulties and referred pain. Often doctors seek to rule out other conditions that may be generating the jaw pain, such as a sinus or ear infection or nerve-related pain. Performing a complete medical history, X-rays and other imaging support a clearer diagnosis.
Based on our clinical expertise as Orofacial Pain Specialists, we suggest that an title=”Anterior Bite Plane Splint is a conservative care plan”>Anterior Bite Plane Splint is a conservative care plan designed for any consumer or provided by any medical or dental provider as the first step in treatment. Conservative treatment is recommended over surgery or orthodontics. The NIDCR offers assurances that most common TMJ disorders improve with appropriate treatment. Short-term use of over-the-counter pain relievers can also be beneficial – but the NIDCR urges people to see a dentist or orofacial pain specialist if the pain is severe or persistent.
Affordable Treatment Options by Orofacial Therapeutics
We are pleased to have this terrific article that explains the Speed2Treat Home Healing Kit and highlights our telehealth partnership with The TeleDentists.com. We are excited to be lined up with The TeleDentists® in the services they provide to patients who previously went to Urgent Care for jaw pain and headaches. How much more convenient to access a licensed dentist at any time or day for an affordable 15-minute telehealth consult and recommendation for the Speed2Treat Home Healing Kit instead of a high-priced Emergency Room screening and medications.
A key component of the Speed2Treat Home Healing Kit is the online video resources that provide pain education and self-care measures for patients to address their jaw pain. People suffering from jaw pain do not need to become reliant on nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs if they can address the risk factors that prevent healing. Without guidance, it can be difficult to relax the jaw (open or close, stop clenching) or to reduce temporal bone pain that is distracting or makes it hard to sleep. Therefore, we designed a 4-Week Care Plan with daily activities and treatment. It is cost-effective and affordable.
The American Dental Association reports an increase in jaw pain cases through the eyes of dentists that are believed to be stress related.
More than 70% of dentists surveyed saw an increase of patients experiencing teeth grinding and clenching, conditions often associated with stress — up from just under 60% in the fall. More specifically, 71% of dentists surveyed reported an increase in prevalence of teeth grinding and clenching; 63% for chipped teeth; 63% for cracked teeth; and 62% for temporomandibular joint disorder symptoms, which includes headaches and jaw pain.” – ADA [1]
According to many dentists that are TMJ providers using our cost-effective and affordable products, they are making a substantial difference. Two scenerios in which they are commonly used are people who struggle with jaw pain following a whiplash incident and atheletes who injured their jaw while playing sports.
To read more, visit Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ) Disorders have been all but invisible in the healthcare system, let alone accurately diagnosed. Until now.
A prescription is not required, so if you are the patient, or you are a PT or Chiropractor, please check out Orofacial Therapeutics’ product Speed2Treat and we will get your Kit in the mail today! You may also call us at 858-252-2264 or send an email to [email protected] with your questions about our products.
References
[1] HPI poll: Dentists see increased prevalence of stress-related oral health conditions, https://www.ada.org/publications/ada-news/2021/march/hpi-poll-dentists-see-increased-prevalence-of-stress-related-oral-health-conditions, March 2021