D
o you wake up in the
morning with a sore
jaw? Do you hear click-
ing, popping or grating
noises when you chew? Does
your jaw ever lock or slip out of
place? If you answered yes to
one of these questions then you
probably have the mysterious and
deadly condition known as TMJ.
Well, it's only deadly in certain
highly unusual and unfortunate
circumstances. For example, if
you're driving down the highway
while using your iPhone to send
your grandmother a Happy Birth-
day Facebook message, when all
of a sudden you see a runaway
cow blocking your lane. You try
to scream, but your jaw locks
up again. So you take your other
hand off the wheel to unhinge
your jaw in order to get out a prop-
er scream. If only you had gotten
your TMJ worked on before you
got in the car that morning.
TMJ actually stands for Tempo-
roMandibular Joint. So, everybody
has TMJ. Actually, everyone has
two TMJs. These are the joints
that connect your bottom jaw to
the base of your skull. Thus, they
are also called "jaw joints." These
joints allow your bottom jaw to
move around when you do normal
things like talking and chewing.
Calling a jaw joint problem "TMJ"
is like tearing your ACL and then
going around telling everyone
your doctor diagnosed you with a
horrible condition called "knee."
What The Heck Is TMJ?
BY DR. HOLLIS L. JONES, FAYETTEVILLE HEADACHE AND TMJ CENTER
SPECIAL PROMOTIONAL SECTION
Dr. Hollis L. Jones
Fayetteville Headache
and TMJ Center
1782 Metromed ical Drive
Fayet teville, NC 28304
Phone: 910.484.6011
