How Are TMJ Disorders Diagnosed?

We will first review your medical history before asking you to open and close your mouth. While you do the aforementioned, we will feel and listen to your jaw and ear area. The next step is to examine your jaw joint alignment as well as your current teeth and bite. At this point, we will determine if there are any abnormalities that could be causing your jaw pain. We will also consider if you are grinding or clenching your teeth, as they can be causes of your jaw pain.

Moving forward, we will proceed by pressing on the muscles around your jaw, back, arms, face, ears, and even shoulders to find out if any of these areas are uncomfortable or painful for you. Also, we will measure how much you can open your mouth and will ask if you experience any noises or pain while doing so. Finally, we will continue checking for issues like overbites/underbites, uneven surfaces on your teeth, cavities, displaced teeth, high fillings in your teeth and other problems that may have triggered TMJ pain.

All in all, the above mentioned is an overview on how a TMJD diagnosis can be made and we hope that you have a better understanding on what the process entails. If you have any burning question about diagnosing a TMJ disorder, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us via phone at 508-541-7400 or visit us in person today.