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TMJ AND EYES

Are you experiencing swelling, sensitivity, stress, pain, pressure, twitching or flashes in your eyes? Much like an earache problem, Temporomandibular Joint could also affect your eyes and eyesight. It could cause pressure on the nerves around the eyes, inflame them, and lead to the above conditions including blurred vision.

The jawbones are connected to the eye. The TMJ – temporomandibular joint is placed around the jaw bones and a disorder in the TMJ can cause eye strain and blurred vision.

The TMJ is wired to your head, neck and face through muscles and nerves and any problem in TMJ could indirectly have a cascading effect on your neck, eyes, ears or head. This causes headaches, which can, in turn, cause vision problems.

The jawbones are connected to the eyes through a nerve called the trigeminal nerve. This nerve branches run through the upper, lower jaw and eye area and could spread pain from one to another.

The trigeminal nerve has three branches:

  • Ophthalmic (of the eye)
  • Maxillary (of the upper jawbone)
  • Mandibular (of the upper jawbone)

These three nerve branches make the connection between the jaw and eyes and therefore a disturbed nerve here could lead to stress and lead to a lot of problems around the area. A pinched nerve in the TMJ region could result in pain in the area around and lead to tooth pain, eye pain, ear pain or even neck pain. TMJ disorder can cause migraines which can indirectly lead to eye pain.

Other issues due to the Trigeminal nerve could be –

  • Retro-orbital pain or pain behind the eyes
  • Pressure behind the eyes
  • Blurry vision
  • Watery eyes
  • Strained eyes
  • Sensitivity to light that could be severe in some cases
  • Floaters (small moving spots that you see on your lens)
  • Droopy Eyelids
  • Flashes in the eyes

A TMJ disorder might be caused by an injury to the head or face. In some cases, however, it builds up gradually. It can also aggravate as a result of certain habits like –

  • Teeth clenching
  • Eating hard food regularly taking oversized bites
  • Poor posture

Diagnosis

A TMJ specialist who is a dentist specially trained to treat this condition can diagnose your situation through different methods including a good look at your joints and surrounding areas, an X-ray or CT scan for a more detailed diagnosis.

Treatment

TMJ pain can be simply reduced by removing unnecessary stress on the jaw as well as practising strengthening and stretching exercises for its muscles.

TMJ can be treated through medication and therapy in the earlier stages. The pain in this case is usually caused due to inflammation in the joint or the surrounding muscles and thus anti-inflammatory pain medications are prescribed by the dentist. In case your muscles are tight and stiff, muscle relaxants might be prescribed.

  • If your TMJ condition is around clenching or grinding your teeth, your dentist might recommend wearing a nightguard or a splint to prevent you from grinding your teeth.
  • Orthodontic treatments could be recommended to resolve issues with a misaligned bite.
  • However, as the condition graduates surgery might be the only option.

If you are experiencing vision problems, headaches, jaw pain or facial pain it’s time to see a TMJ specialist and get your TMJ condition under control.

We are a well-known dental clinic in Seawoods and provide all-around dental care. We have a dedicated TMJ specialist who can address your pain and queries. Book an appointment with us to capture the early signs and recovery.