What Are Temporomandibular Disorders?

Today, researchers generally agre that temporomandibular disorders fall into three main categories:

• myofascial pain, the most common form of TMD, which is discomfort or pain in the muscles that control jaw function and the neck and shoulder muscles;

• internal derangement of the joint, meaning a dislocated jaw or displaced disc, or injury to the condyle;

• degenerative joint disease, such as osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis in the jaw joint.

A person may have one or more of these conditions at the same time.

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