Boston Massachusetts TMJ Expert to Releive Head and Neck Pain

TMJ Diagnosis and Examination
Dr. Rosenbaum Will Help Your TMJ With his Years of Experience
Boston TMJ Examination and Treatment Clinic
Boston Massachusetts TMJ Expert to Releive Head and Neck Pain

EXAMINATION AND DIAGNOSIS OF TMJ / TMD

The primary means of diagnosing TMD is by the doctor listening to the patient's history. No blood test or computer analysis that can diagnose TMD. X-rays and/or MRIs may indicate when there is a bone disease or displaced disc in the joint, but imaging cannot tell whether there is pain.

The primary way to diagnose a TMD condition is the doctor to take a thorough history in which the patient tells the doctor about his or her condition, and by the dentist analyzing information from questionnaires the patient fills out before the first visit.

After listening to a patient the doctor formulates a potential diagnosis and then an examination of the TM joints, the jaw muscles, and neck helps to confirm the probable diagnosis.

TM joint examination typically consists of manual palpation of the TM joint to test for pain, feeling the motion of the joint with a finger placed over the joint, to feel for abnormal motion, and watching the mouth open, close, and move sideways. Most patients do not need X-rays but when there is a problem in the TM joint either X-rays to view the jaw bones or an MRI to view the soft tissues and disc in the joints may assist the doctor to make the diagnosis. Although various electronic instruments are available the information they provide assists in making a diagnosis but in and of themselves, they cannot alone make a diagnosis.

Clinical examination of the muscles of the head, neck, and jaws consists of palpation in which the doctor uses finger- tips to sense muscle tightness, pain, or knots. If the knots are trigger points, and if the trigger points are referring pain to another area, palpating the trigger point will either increase or decrease the referred pain. Also, stretching the muscle or injecting the trigger point with local anesthetic may confirm whether pain is being referring from a trigger point. Although there are various electromyographic instruments that can measure the electrical activity in a muscle, these instruments cannot in and of themselves make a diagnosis.

Overview of TMJ / TMD | Causes of TMJ / TMD | Symptoms of TMJ / TMD
Examination and diagnosis of TMJ / TMD | Treatments for TMJ / TMD | Insurance considerations