A lot of people grind their teeth some when they’re feeling stressed, but if you’re doing it often and without even thinking about it, you may have a more serious problem. If you’d like to find out if you have a TMJ disorder and if the team at Orthodontic Alliances could help you with a teeth grinding and TMJ treatment, call us today at 219-809-6584 to book a consultation.

We know it can be difficult to find the time to visit an orthodontist so we’ve tried to make things a little easier for you in terms of travel time by having seven dentist office locations in northwestern Indiana. You can visit us in three locations. All are open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday.

We accept a large variety of payment options so you won’t have to put off getting the treatments you need due to financial concerns. We also accept third-party financing from CareCredit and take all dental insurance policies. We’ll work with your insurance company and do our very best to get you the maximum benefits available.

If you can make a down payment of 25 percent, you can pay for the remainder of your treatment over an 18 month period totally interest-free. We can also set up an auto-draft for payments so you won’t even have to think about deadlines and so you won’t have to worry about any penalty fees. If you’re able to cover the full cost of your treatment at the beginning, we’ll give you a seven percent discount.

Get A Sense Of What It’s Like To Have A TMJ Disorder

TMJ disorders can affect people in a variety of ways and range from mild to severe situations. To find out if you have one, you should visit a professional for an assessment, but if you are experiencing some combination of the following symptoms, there’s a decent chance you have some sort of issue related to your TMJ, or jaw joints:

  • Tenderness and soreness in your jaw and face
  • Discomfort in your jaw, neck, and/or shoulders
  • Feeling as though your upper and lower jaw are not fitting together correctly as they usually do
  • Frequent, severe, and/or involuntary teeth grinding
  • Headaches/migraines, especially when you first wake up in the morning
  • A jaw that gets stuck open or closed
  • Difficulty opening your mouth wide when eating or so a doctor or dentist can look inside

But reading a list of symptoms may not give you a concrete sense of what it’s like to have an issue with your TMJ. Read on below for a glimpse of what a day in the life with TMJ troubles could be like.

You wake up with a throbbing headache and a stiff and sore jaw. You know you should eat something before taking a pain reliever, but even opening your jaw a little bit to take a sip of coffee is uncomfortable for you. Chewing sounds like it could only make matters worse so you eat something soft like a cup of yogurt but even that is unpleasant.

When you get to work, one of your coworkers is raving about that new burger joint in town and trying to get people interested in going there for lunch. A burger sounds delicious but you know you couldn’t comfortably enjoy that meal. You end up eating a cup of noodles at your desk instead.

When you go home, your partner has made a delicious meal – you can tell just by the way it smells – but you don’t think you’ll be able to chew it either. You’re very hungry but you know that a full meal will be laborious and even painful for you. Maybe you cook up some oatmeal that you can slurp down instead.

You’ve got a headache again so you explain your situation and decide to lay down early. The next day, a very similar cycle repeats and you don’t see any end in sight.

Stop putting up with discomfort and other problems due to your jaw issues. If you’re ready to do something about your TMJ disorder, call Orthodontic locations at 219-809-6584 to book a consultation for a TMJ treatment. You can also swing by one of our northwestern Indiana locations in person during business hours or use our simple online form to book or ask questions.