TMJ Dysfunction - Is there a cure?
- Carolyn Khoo
- Jan 27
- 4 min read
Most people come to me asking the same question.
Is there a cure?
They ask it after trying many things that helped briefly and then stopped working; dental splints, exercises found online, pain relief, scans that came back normal. The cycle is familiar. Relief, then relapse.
The honest answer is this.There is no single cure that works for everyone.
But research consistently shows that TMJ symptoms can improve significantly. Many people become close to symptom free. The difference is rarely effort. It's approach.
How Common TMJ Dysfunction Really Is
Temporomandibular disorders affect an estimated 5% to 12% of adults, making them one of the most common causes of chronic facial pain. Large epidemiological studies also show that women are affected more frequently than men, particularly between the ages of 20 and 50.
Importantly, diagnostic research has repeatedly shown a poor relationship between pain and imaging findings. Reviews of TMJ imaging demonstrate that many people with significant symptoms show no structural joint abnormalities, while others with visible joint changes report little or no pain. This mismatch is one of the reasons TMD is often dismissed or misunderstood.
The dominant clinical picture in most cases is not joint damage, but muscle driven dysfunction.
Why TMD Rarely Resolves on Its Own
The most common form of TMD is myofascial, meaning it primarily involves muscles rather than the joint itself. Large diagnostic studies used in healthcare consistently show that muscle related TMJ pain is far more common than joint damage.
Jaw muscles are highly adaptive. Studies of jaw muscle activity show that clenching, sustained postural load, and prolonged stress responses increase baseline muscle activation in the jaw and neck. When these inputs remain unchanged, the nervous system maintains the same protective pattern.
This explains why a single treatment can produce short term relief without long term resolution. Manual intervention can temporarily reduce muscle tone, but without repeated input, the system tends to return to its learned baseline.
Relief is common. Resolution takes repetition.
A 3 Pronged Approach That Works in Real Life
What follows is not theoretical.
This 3 pronged approach is based on my own experience with TMD and on repeated clinical patterns I have observed in clients who are now nearly symptom free. These observations align closely with what the evidence supports when TMD is treated as a system issue rather than a local fault.
1. Regular Intra Oral TMJ Work
Teaching the Muscles a New Normal
Manual therapy, such as my TMJ Intra Oral Therapy, has been shown to reduce pain and improve jaw function in people with myofascial TMD, particularly when delivered over a course of treatment rather than as a single session.
Clinical trials and systematic reviews report that repeated manual input helps reduce protective muscle activity and improve neuromuscular control. Short term improvements are common, but studies also note higher relapse rates when treatment is discontinued early.
This matches what most people experience. The first session feels transformative. Without consistency, the muscles revert.
Change occurs through repetition, not force.
2. Strengthening the Jaw Properly
Why Stretching Alone Is Not Enough.
Exercise based therapy is one of the most consistently supported interventions for TMJ Dysfunction. However, evidence shows that outcomes are better when mobility is combined with controlled strengthening rather than stretching alone.
Research into jaw motor control demonstrates that muscles lacking strength and coordination fatigue quickly. Fatigue increases pain sensitivity and reduces tolerance to everyday activities such as eating, speaking, and stress holding.
Progressive strengthening improves load tolerance and supports longer term symptom reduction. This is why strengthening is now widely recommended alongside manual therapy rather than as an optional extra.
I will be sharing self TMJ strengthening and stretching exercises in a future post so people can support their jaw safely between sessions.
3. Changing the Conditions That Drive the Pattern
Large scale research, including longitudinal cohort studies such as the OPPERA trial, has identified psychosocial and environmental load as major predictors of persistent TMD. These studies show that sustained external pressure, lack of recovery, and heightened nervous system reactivity significantly increase both the risk and severity of TMJ symptoms.
This does not mean TMJ is psychological. It means the jaw is highly responsive to ongoing threat signals.
In practice, TMJ often becomes crippling because the external impetus is relentless. There is little point strengthening or stretching a muscle while continuing to live in conditions that keep the body under constant strain.
A job you dread.A relationship that keeps you braced.A pace that never allows recovery.
When these inputs change, the body responds. Muscle tone reduces. Jaw movement improves. Pain becomes easier to manage. In many cases, symptom improvement follows life change rather than treatment escalation.
The jaw is not failing. It is communicating.
So Is There a Cure for TMJ Dysfunction?
There is no universal fix.
But the evidence is clear. TMJ improves when muscle behaviour is retrained, functional strength is restored, and the conditions driving overload are addressed.
TMJ responds to consistency, not intensity. Support, not force.
That is how people get close to a cure.
In the next post, I will explore the different treatment options available for TMJ and how they compare, so you can make informed choices.
If you would like to book a TMJ Intra Oral treatment with us, please click on one of the options below:
References
Manfredini, D., Guarda Nardini, L., Winocur, E., Piccotti, F., Ahlberg, J., Lobbezoo, F. Research diagnostic criteria for temporomandibular disorders. Journal of Oral Rehabilitation, 38(9), 631–638.https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2842.2011.02210.x
Greene, C.S. Managing temporomandibular disorders. Journal of the American Dental Association, 141(5), 601–605.https://doi.org/10.14219/jada.archive.2010.0224
Murray, G.M., Peck, C.C. Orofacial pain and jaw muscle activity. Journal of Oral Rehabilitation, 34(7), 524–534.https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2842.2007.01733.x
Armijo Olivo, S., Magee, D.J., Flores Mir, C. Effectiveness of manual therapy and therapeutic exercise for temporomandibular disorders. Physical Therapy, 96(1), 9–25.https://doi.org/10.2522/ptj.20140548
Slade, G.D., Ohrbach, R., Greenspan, J.D., et al. Painful temporomandibular disorder. Journal of Pain, 17(9), T93–T116.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpain.2016.04.003
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