Jaw pain is not normal.
If jaw pain is part of your everyday life, it may seem normal to you. The truth is, jaw pain is far from normal and may be a symptom of a condition called TMD from one or both of your TMJs. Those are the joints of your lower jaw, called TemporoMandibular Joints. When disease or misalignment occurs, the TMJ and surrounding area becomes inflamed — which is what causes pain and other symptoms.
- Headaches
- Earaches, tenderness around the ear
- Face or jaw pain and tenderness
- Muscle pain in your neck, shoulders and upper back
- Ringing in the ears
- Clicking, popping, or grinding jaw
- Difficulty chewing, yawning or opening your mouth
What are the signs of TMJ disorder (TMD)?
How do we diagnose and treat TMJ disorder?
Diagnosis
Treatment of TMD begins with a comprehensive clinical examination, to check your face, jaw, bite, joints, and teeth. During your appointment, we will check for pain and tenderness and listen for clicking or popping when you open and close your mouth, swallow, or chew. If the disorder is diagnosed, a bite splint or night guard is often recommended as the initial treatment.
Treatment and Relief
Our treatment application involves bite splints, which are custom-created plastic mouthpieces, designed to fit over your upper and/or lower teeth. These type of devices prevent the grinding and clenching that often causes or worsens TMD. The splint also realigns the jaw, removing stress on the surrounding area.
Alternative Treatment Options
If a misaligned bite or missing teeth are the cause of your symptoms, we may recommend orthodontics or restorative dental work. If your bite is placing undue pressure on the TMJ’s, we may suggest reshaping individual teeth to redistribute the bite force evenly.
Contact us today
to schedule an initial consultation & exam.
Your consultation will include an examination of everything from your teeth, gums and soft tissues to the shape and condition of your bite. Generally, we want to see how your whole mouth looks and functions. Before we plan your treatment we want to know everything about the health and aesthetic of your smile, and, most importantly, what you want to achieve so we can help you get there.
Winner of the Three Best Rated Award
Dr. Asad Hasan is the winner of the 3 Best Rated award for Best Dentists in Ajax.
Frequently Asked Questions
TMJ stands for Temporomandibular Joint. If this joint becomes misaligned or inflamed we refer to that as Temporomandibular Joint Disorder or TMD for short.
Signs or symptoms of TMD include pain and tenderness in or around the ear, the jaw joint, or the muscles of the jaw, face or temples. Other symptoms are problems opening or closing your mouth, and a clicking, popping, crunching or grinding noise when you chew, yawn or open your mouth. TMDs may be linked with neck pain and headaches.
TMD is caused by a combination of factors like jaw injuries and joint disease, such as arthritis. It’s believed that bruxism (tooth clenching or grinding) and head or neck muscle tension may make TMD symptoms worse. Stress is also a possible factor. However, it is not clear if stress causes TMD or is a result. Other things that may lead to TMDs are partial or full dentures that are not the right fit and certain habits such as fingernail biting and pen or pencil biting. As you can see, there are an array of different causes which makes TMD hard to diagnose. The best way to understand your jaw pain symptoms are to book an appointment.
There are many possible causes of headaches. No doctor will be able to determine the cause of your headache without a physical examination.
Most often, TMJ pain can be treated effectively with non-invasive treatments and therapies. In very rare circumstances, TMD may require surgery. Your health and happiness are both important to us. We will always present you with all of your options, work through the safest and easiest options first, and give you the final decision on what happens next.
What Our Patients Are Saying
Comfortable And At Ease
Fantastic Dental Service
Long Term Patient
Google Verified Patient Reviews
Katie L
2 weeks ago
Moved to Ajax and came here for teeth cleaning. The staff were really nice and professional. The dental office looked clean and minimal waiting time. The dentist, Dr. Hasan is really nice and provided really good service and advice when it comes to dental health. I also recommended my husband to come here and we are both very happy with the services here.
tanzina tahereen
1 month ago
The doctor and all the staffs are very friendly and understanding. I am very happy with my overall experience. The doctor makes sure that the patient is comfortable and does not go through a painful experience. I realized that visiting to a dentist does not have to be very painful. The doc also explains every procedure and steps, which is very ensuring. Most importantly, I did not feel like my teeth are a disaster and I must fix everythinv right away, which has been my experience everytime I visited a dentist. But with Doc Hasan I did not feel that rush for going through all the treatment right away. I will visit again in future and recommend friends and fanily to visit Doc Hasan.
Karlene Nebiyou
2 months ago
I’ve been going to this dentist for over 5 years and the staff have always been very time efficient and kind. My appointment is always at the scheduled time and doesn’t take excessively long. They also make sure to take care of me without causing too much pain which I appreciate after passing through the hands of many rough dentist offices. I highly recommend, especially if you live in the area.
Brad Holder
2 months ago
The clinic was extremely helpful. I had some emergency work to get done before my wedding and the Doctor squeezed me in and got everything done on a very short timeline. The staff is very pleasant and worked with me to get my insurance figured out. Would recommend.
SaRaNYa s
2 months ago
Highly recommended!! I recently moved to this area and registered at North Harwood Dental. I usually get nervous whenever I visit dentist because of problems like severe gagging , sensitivity, soreness in mouth etc. I told Dr.Hasan about this , he calmly said lets try and see , in every step he explained well about the procedure, my filling was done and it was really a great experience (with not much pain or gagging problem).I recovered in few hours. Dr.Hasan is very caring , knowledgeable and passionate about his work. I really had an amazing experience with North Harwood Dental and the staff is very friendly.
Katie L
2 weeks ago
Moved to Ajax and came here for teeth cleaning. The staff were really nice and professional. The dental office looked clean and minimal waiting time. The dentist, Dr. Hasan is really nice and provided really good service and advice when it comes to dental health. I also recommended my husband to come here and we are both very happy with the services here.
tanzina tahereen
1 month ago
The doctor and all the staffs are very friendly and understanding. I am very happy with my overall experience. The doctor makes sure that the patient is comfortable and does not go through a painful experience. I realized that visiting to a dentist does not have to be very painful. The doc also explains every procedure and steps, which is very ensuring. Most importantly, I did not feel like my teeth are a disaster and I must fix everythinv right away, which has been my experience everytime I visited a dentist. But with Doc Hasan I did not feel that rush for going through all the treatment right away. I will visit again in future and recommend friends and fanily to visit Doc Hasan.
Karlene Nebiyou
2 months ago
I’ve been going to this dentist for over 5 years and the staff have always been very time efficient and kind. My appointment is always at the scheduled time and doesn’t take excessively long. They also make sure to take care of me without causing too much pain which I appreciate after passing through the hands of many rough dentist offices. I highly recommend, especially if you live in the area.
Brad Holder
2 months ago
The clinic was extremely helpful. I had some emergency work to get done before my wedding and the Doctor squeezed me in and got everything done on a very short timeline. The staff is very pleasant and worked with me to get my insurance figured out. Would recommend.
SaRaNYa s
2 months ago
Highly recommended!! I recently moved to this area and registered at North Harwood Dental. I usually get nervous whenever I visit dentist because of problems like severe gagging , sensitivity, soreness in mouth etc. I told Dr.Hasan about this , he calmly said lets try and see , in every step he explained well about the procedure, my filling was done and it was really a great experience (with not much pain or gagging problem).I recovered in few hours. Dr.Hasan is very caring , knowledgeable and passionate about his work. I really had an amazing experience with North Harwood Dental and the staff is very friendly.
