WHERE THE TM JOINTS ARE AND HOW THEY WORK - AN OVERSIMPLIFIED ANATOMY LESSON:

The Temporomandibular Joints are the points of attachment of the lower jaw (the Mandible) to the skull. They are among the most complex joints in the human anatomy. If you place your fingers on the sides of your face just in front of your ears, and open and close your mouth, you can feel the movement of the Mandible in the TM Joints. That's where they are. Most people think that the lower jaw moves as if its on a hinge, similar to the way a door opens and closes. In fact, there are two different movements associated with jaw opening and closing. The first phase of opening is indeed hinge-like, but only for about the first third of the opening range. But then in the last, two thirds of the opening range the Mandible slides forward, and down to full open. Closing movement is in reverse order. Now, think of the joint as a kind of ball and socket, with the TM Joint being the socket, and the top of the Mandibular bone (the Condyle Head) as the ball. There is a " cartilage", called the Articular Disk, which lies between the Condyle Head and the roof of the Joint, and the movement of that Artiular Disk is controlled by two elements, a rubber band-like ligament on the back end called the Retrodiskal Ligament, and on the front end the Articular Disk is controlled by a muscle, called the Lateral Pterygoid muscle. End of anatomy lesson.

<ALIGN=LEFT>PRIMARY SYMPTOMS ASSOCIATED WITH TM JOINT DISORDERS:

Pain in the TM Joints associated with Jaw movements

Noises in the TM Joints associated with Jaw movements (clicking, snapping, crunching, etc.)

SECONDARY SYMPTOMS ASSOCIATED WITH TM JOINT DISORDERS

Ear aches not associated with an infection

Neck Shoulder pain

Edward K. Reiman, D.D.S.([email protected])
Copyright © Edward K. Reiman, D.D.S. Rutland, VT