The most common cause for TMD is when the teeth come together, the TMJ’s are not in proper position in the socket. Certain movements of your jaw actually allow the TMJ to come out of the socket. Imagine if your knee would come out of socket…not a good thing. But for your jaw this is normal when opening wide. However, when your teeth are closed together, there is one position for your jaw that is correct and stable in the socket. In this position the muscles that move the jaw are at rest.

Now imagine if the teeth did not fit together properly. What if in the position of maximum tooth contact the jaw joint had to come out of the rest position to accommodate? The muscles will continue to try to get the jaw in rest position but they can’t. The muscles would be constantly trying to move the jaw into a comfortable position but unable to do so because of the interferences of the teeth.

Dr. Sheen is well-versed in the management and treatment of TMD cases, and in the restoration of chewing systems to their proper healthy occlusion. We at The Annapolis Center for Health and Wellness believe education is the key to helping patients understand the TMJ and how to have a healthy chewing system.Â

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