TMJ Disorders

TMJ dysfunctions are conditions affecting your jaw joints and surrounding muscles and ligaments. These conditions can cause several issues, including jaw pain, headaches and difficulty opening and closing your mouth.

You might hear people call these conditions TMJ. But “TMJ” refers to your actual jaw joint, while “TMD” stands for temporomandibular joint dysfunction. Another name is temporomandibular joint disorder.

You have two TMJs (temporomandibular joints) — one on each side of your face, just in front of your ears. Your TMJs connect your lower jawbone to your skull and help with movements like chewing and speaking.

Between 5% and 12% of the general adult population have some form of TMJ disorder. The condition is twice as common in women and people assigned female at birth (AFAB) than in men and people assigned male at birth (AMAB). People between the ages of 20 and 40 are most likely to develop TMD.

Types of TMD (temporomandibular joint dysfunction)

Healthcare providers classify TMDs into three categories:

Disorders of your jaw joints.
Disorders of your chewing muscles.
Headaches that result from TMD.

Symptoms

When to see a doctor

Request an appointment

Complications

Blood clots are a dangerous complication of atrial fibrillation (AFib). Blood clots can lead to stroke.

The risk of stroke from AFib increases as you grow older. Other health conditions also may increase the risk of a stroke due to AFib. These conditions include:

High blood pressure.
Diabetes.
Heart failure.
Some types of heart valve disease.

Blood thinners are commonly prescribed to prevent blood clots and strokes in people with atrial fibrillation.

Prevention

Healthy lifestyle choices can reduce the risk of heart disease and may prevent atrial fibrillation (AFib). Here are some basic heart-healthy tips:

Control high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes.
Don't smoke or use tobacco.
Eat a diet that's low in salt and saturated fat.
Exercise at least 30 minutes a day on most days of the week unless your health care team says not to.
Get good sleep. Adults should aim for 7 to 9 hours daily.
Maintain a healthy weight.
Reduce and manage stress.

By Freedmans Health Clinic Staff

Living with atrial fibrillation?

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