Temporomandibular joint disease, commonly referred to as TMJ, can be attributed to several problems with the most common being muscle, bite, and joint.
Muscle
Stress, teeth clenching (bruxism), and poor posture causes your muscles to tighten. This tightening pulls your upper and lower jaws closer together, putting pressure on your TMJ and sometimes wears down your teeth.
Bite
Many kinds of "bad bites" (malocclusions) disrupt the posture of your TMJ. If you have an open bite, your teeth only touch in the back. This can displace your condyle and possibly move your disc out of position.
Joint
Joint problems can come from injuries (blow to the jaw or bruxism) or from disease (often arthritis). An injury may stretch ligaments, allow your disc to slip out of position, and even lead to arthritic degeneration.
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