You Deserve More Than “Just Take a Pain Reliever”
You Deserve More Than "Just Take a Pain Reliever"
If you wake up with a stiff jaw, grind through daily headaches, or hear a click every time you
open your mouth — you already know something is wrong. What you might not know is that
the source of all that discomfort could be your bite.
Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction (TMD) is one of the most misunderstood conditions in
dentistry. Many patients spend years managing symptoms — headaches, neck pain, facial
soreness, even ringing in the ears — without ever addressing the underlying cause. At Scola
Family Dentistry in Murrieta, CA, Dr. Valerie Scola has developed a specialized approach to TMD
that goes beyond symptom relief to find and fix the root problem.
What Is TMD?
Your temporomandibular joint is the hinge that connects your jaw to your skull. It works
together with muscles, nerves, tendons, and other soft tissues to let you speak, chew, and
yawn. When that system is out of alignment, the whole machine starts to break down.
TMD symptoms can include: jaw pain or stiffness, clicking or popping when opening the mouth,
locking of the jaw, chronic headaches, neck pain, radiating facial pain, and tinnitus (ringing in
the ears).
Causes range from arthritis and jaw injuries to connective tissue diseases. But as a dentist, Dr.
Scola frequently sees another major contributor: a “bad bite.” When your teeth and muscles
are not working in harmony, stress builds on the joints. Over time, that stress produces pain.
The Connection Between Your Bite and Your Pain
Occlusal disease — the medical term for problems with how your teeth fit together — can
throw your entire jaw system off balance. Misaligned teeth, crowding, and chronic teethgrinding (bruxism) all place excessive tension on the muscles and joints responsible for basic
functions like chewing.
Even habits that seem harmless — like chewing gum or crunching ice — can add to that tension
over time. The result is a system under constant stress, and that stress has to go somewhere.
Real Treatment Starts with Understanding the Cause
At Scola Family Dentistry, we use advanced diagnostics to understand exactly why your TMJ is
struggling. If we find that bite alignment is the issue, Dr. Scola may recommend orthodontic
treatment like Invisalign to bring the teeth and muscles back into harmony. Once aligned, the
stress on your joints is significantly reduced.
We may also recommend customized oral appliances — such as nightguards or bite splints —
that reposition the jaws and ease muscle tension while you sleep. For many patients, relaxation
techniques and targeted exercises that strengthen the jaw muscles are also helpful. Small
adjustments to eating habits can make a meaningful difference as well.
The goal is lasting relief, not a lifetime of managing pain with medication.
You Do Not Have to Live with Jaw Pain
Patients across Murrieta, Temecula, Menifee, Wildomar, Lake Elsinore, Sun City, and Canyon
Lake are finding real relief from TMD at Scola Family Dentistry. Dr. Scola brings specialized
expertise in preventing, diagnosing, treating, and managing this common but often overlooked
condition.
If you have been told your jaw pain is “just stress” — or if you have been managing it with overthe-counter pain relievers for too long — it is time to find out what is really going on.
Book an appointment at Scola Family Dentistry today and take the first step toward a life
without jaw pain.
The new common language will be more simple and regular than the existing European languages. It will be as simple as Occidental; in fact, it will be Occidental.
To an English person, it will seem like simplified English, as a skeptical Cambridge friend of mine told me what Occidental is. The European languages are members of the same family. Their separate existence is a myth.
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