When you think about arthritis, your jaw seldomly comes to your mind. Instead, the most recalled targets of this disease are one’s hands or knees. This resemblance is surprising when you think about it because arthritis is an ailment of joints. Therefore, this definition pushes your jaw in the range of this ailment.
After all, your jaw comprises one of the most complicated joints known as the temporomandibular joint. This fascinating joint allows for the sliding as well as the vertical motion of your jaws. Therefore, to keep the jaw in its optimum shape and retain its activity, you should know how arthritis affects your jaws.
Types Of Arthritis And Their Effect On Your Jaw:
There are two common types of arthritis, namely: osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. These conditions differ in their origins when they attack your jaws.
Osteoarthritis: This occurs due to the over usage of the joint. The over-usage and mineral deficiency, such as the lack of magnesium in the diet, can degrade the bone, muscles, and cartilage. Cartilage is a soft tissue bolstering the bones so they don’t strike each other. Hence, because of cartilage, you don’t hear squeaky sounds from your jaw when you eat.
Therefore, according to our discussion above, the jaw becomes the prime target of osteoarthritis. Indeed, the onset of osteoarthritis begins from the jaw, and then it radiates towards other joints of your body.
Rheumatoid Arthritis:
This is a type of auto-immune disease. In auto-immune disease, the body’s own immune system turns against its cells and tissues. In the case of rheumatoid arthritis, the immune system starts to target soft cartilage tissues. Eventually, with the degradation of cartilage, bones strike each other when they come close. Such striking further leads to the joint bone’s erosion.
On the contrary to osteoarthritis, rheumatoid begins by affecting the knees and hand. Finally, the disease progresses, and the chances of it striking jaw bone increases.
Changes That Occurs In Temporomandibular Joint And The Accompanying Symptoms:
Due to arthritis, the cartilage in between bones begins to degrade. The bones contributing to the movement closes in. This can lead to bone erosion or the displacement of the articular disk. Overall, this can seriously hamper the movement of the jaw. Some patients describe the experience as ” it (jaw) wants to lock”,” it makes chewing hard”. Apart from restricted motion, the following are some symptoms commonly faced during arthritis in the jaw:
Inflammation: The area around the joint swells to tenderness with radiating pain.
Jaw Stiffness: You can experience stiff joints (known as locking), especially in the morning.
Pain: Pain during jaw movement along with crackling or clicking noise. The pain is not only limited to your jaws. Instead, it can extend to the ears, tooth, and head.
Conclusion:
Arthritis needs medical attention that can help you curb the pain so that you can resume your day-to-day routine. However, the diagnosis of arthritis in jaws is often tricky, and your dentist might refer you to a specialist. Are you experiencing jaw pain, then visit Brenham Family Dental immediately. In addition, you can call us at 979-421-9685 for more information.