TMJ Treatment Atlanta offers comprehensive TMD diagnosis to evaluate the TMJ. The term TMD covers a broad range of dysfunctions and disorders of the Temporo-Mandibular Joint (TMJ), aka the jaw joint. While 70% of damaged jaw joints will adapt favorably without therapy, the poor adaptation for the other 30% can cause pain, changes in the bite, difficulty chewing and more.
The TMJ is evaluated on four basic criteria.
- Comfort
- Movement
- Mechanical Stability
- Structural Stability
When one or more of these factors are out of harmony, the likelihood that the TMJ is actively breaking down and adapting unfavorably increases and warrants more investigation to assess the condition. A TMD diagnosis may require only a few, or perhaps a combination, of these tests:
- Detailed clinical exam, including muscle testing and range of motion studies
- Occlusal analysis – a study of how the teeth rub against each other
- Mounted study models and diagnostic photographs
- A doppler device is used to evaluate the patient’s joint sounds
- CBCT X-ray of the bones of the face and jaw
- MRI of the soft tissue, muscles and cartilages of the face and jaw
