Who is Affected?
Temporomandibular joint disease (also known as TMD or TMJ) affects 75 million people at any one time. It is a chronic degenerative disease that may take years to develop. People who suffer from TMD have a structural imbalance in their jaw-to-skull relationship, caused by a misaligned or bad. This disease causes:
- Alterations of the temporomandibular joint position due to excessive pressure on the joint and surrounding tissues.
- The jaw to twist into a strained position. This further affects the muscles in the face, back, neck and shoulders.
Other causes of TMJ disorders may include clenching or grinding of the teeth, tightening of the jaw muscles and added stress to the TM joint, or damage to the jaw due to an injury.