TMJ Therapy


Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) pain is often a subject many people are not familiar with, which is why many sufferers have trouble finding relief for their sore jaws, facial pain, migraines and chronic headaches. At Choto Family Dentistry, we offer several different treatment options for TMJ pain relief.

TMJ Options

  1. Night Guards: We recommend trying an over-the-counter or custom-made night guard for about 4 to 6 weeks first. TMJ symptoms often improve or resolve during this time, and you may be able to stop using a night guard afterwards. 

  2. Botox:  Another quick way we can help address your TMJ pain is by using BOTOX. Long thought of as just a cosmetic treatment, doctors across all disciplines have been using BOTOX for years as a pain reliever. When used for TMJ therapy, it can be applied directly to the jaw muscles that are causing pain. This will prevent them from moving and straining themselves unconsciously. The treatment itself only takes about 10 minutes and a few painless injections, but the results are almost instant, and they can easily last for several months.

  3. Trigger Point Injections: Trigger points are sensitive, tight areas within muscles that can cause pain, tenderness , and stiffness. These small "knots" can form when muscle fibers become overused, injured, or strained, leading to localized pain that may also radiate to other areas. Trigger points can develop in the muscles surrounding the jaw, face, neck, and shoulders.  When these tripper points are activated, they can cause discomfort, restricted jaw movement, and referred pain to the head and neck region, contributing to symptoms like headaches and facial pain. 

    There is strong evidence showing the correlation between the presence of trigger points and the resultant TMJ syndrome. Furthermore, when trigger point treatment is included in a care plan for TMJ, the outcomes appear to be superior to those treatment regimens that do not address trigger points as part of the interventional treatment .There are a number of options for treating trigger points and referred TMJ pain, and one of the most successful is trigger point injections.
    Trigger point injections involve injecting a very fine needle into the muscle for 30–60 seconds, along with the use of 1% plain lidocaine or mepivacaine to numb the area, making the treatment more comfortable. However, it is not the lidocaine that provides long-term pain relief, but the needling itself.