Understanding LASER Treatment For TMJ

By Harold Walker


TMJ diseases can be so painful and disturbing, and more devastatingly, can be idiopathic. The primary distress associated with it even at its mildest form is difficulties with chewing and speech. LASER treatment for TMJ is one of the most suitable therapies, being more advantageous as it is pain-free with much less side effects and does not require a high demanding procedure, unlike surgery.

TMJ is just another way of writing Temporo-mandibular joint. It is located near the ears and on the cheeks. If the flesh was to be taken away, one should find the joint around the bottom of the skull. Movement occurs on the joint, but this time, to promote speech and mastication. This movement is made more manifest by the contraction and relaxation of the muscles in the area.

When the joint is affected by diseases, it can affect the muscles and the vessels that supply blood to it. If microorganisms invade the joint, it is most likely that some diseases will manifest. Because of the presence of various nerves in this joint, the pain felt here can be transferred to other parts of the head and the face. This often results in bruxism, ear pain, headaches, and other secondary symptoms.

When microorganisms attack, they succeed only when they are able to subdue the host's immune system. When this happens, there is inflammation that can either be acute or chronic. It is worse to have a chronic infection because the body will be badly affected. Signs and symptoms associated with this include swellings, redness, pain, and tenderness of the affected part.

Medical intervention is indispensable for alleviating the symptoms and relieving patients. Most medical procedures are targeted at removing or correcting the underlying cause and this poses a challenge to medical practitioners if the cause is idiopathic. This can be overcome can LASER therapy. All thanks to the fast growing technology.

The full meaning of LASER is Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. It applies coherent photons unto the area of interest. The radiation that comes from this is absorbed by tissues. This causes some physiological reactions that propel changes for the joint to get well.

Anything that can make the body to heal naturally should be encouraged. It has often been said that radiation is bad for the body because of its possibility to cause cancer but this is not very true because not all of them can bring about this problem. Generally, LASER, X-rays and other forms of radiations with little or no ionizing property cannot cause cancer. Instead, they are used to terminate cancerous tumors so instead of being afraid of it, one should rather embrace it as a type of treatment.

There are more advantages of this treatment compared to surgery. One of the strong reasons to accept it is that it does not cause pain. Hence, there is no need for anesthesia when using it. After a surgery, the patient still has to make out time to visit the hospital frequently but this is not the case with this procedure. Since there are no stitches involved, the patient also looks better after the treatment.




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