Dental Care at Memorial Southwest provides treatment for temporomandibular disorder (TMD) at their Houston office. The document includes a questionnaire to screen for TMD symptoms like jaw, face, ear, and head pain as well as jaw popping, locking, and limited movement. Patients experiencing painful TMD symptoms or dental destruction from conditions like clenching should schedule an appointment for treatment to avoid further issues.

1. DENTAL CARE AT MEMORIAL SOUTHWEST
Steve Fortenberry, D.D.S.
J.C. Martinez, D.D.S.
7737 Southwest Freeway, Suite 960
Houston, TX 77074
713-774-9774
Temporomandibular Disorder Questionnaire:
Do you experience pain in your face, ears, below/ in front of your ears or
headaches for which your medical doctor has not found a cause?
Where is your pain located? If your having trouble locating the exact origin,
imagine gently placing your finger into your ear canal. Is your finger pointing
at the pain or is the pain in front of your finger, toward your face?
Do your jaw joints (TMJ), located in front of your ears, hurt when you chew
and do they make clicking, popping or crackling noises?
Do your facial muscles feel tired or stiff when you awaken, during the day,
after a lot of speaking or when yawning?
Do you clench your teeth together while sleeping or awake? A spouse can
often tell you about your jaw muscle activity during sleeping.
Do you have headaches in the sides of your temples?
Are you able to open your mouth freely, smoothly and as wide as you are
accustomed to doing?
Can you move your jaw from side to side with your mouth open?
Do you experience episodes when your jaw feels that it locks open or shut?
Do you feel that your upper and lower teeth don't fit together as they usually
do?
Is your bite comfortable? Is chewing tough foods uncomfortable or painful?
Do you experience dental pain in lots of teeth for which your dentist has
found no cause?
Are your teeth chipping and are the front teeth worn flat on their edges?
Do your upper front teeth completely cover the lower teeth when you bite
together?
Have your teeth been shifting, creating spaces or crowding for no apparent
dental reason?
If you answered “YES” to any of these questions, you may have a TMJ disorder.
Call our office at 713-774-9774 to schedule an appointment for treatment to
avoid or relieve any painful/ dysfunctional symptoms as well as dental
destruction resulting from TMD.

2. Painful symptoms include: headaches, facial & dental pain, pain in the jaw joints,
pain associated with jaw movement, ear pain/ pressure, tinnitus, neck pain, back
pain, shoulder pain and chest pain.
Dysfunctional symptoms include:
Jaw joint: locked/ dislocated, facial asymmetry
Jaw movement: limited, deviated, slow/ irregular
Head movement: limited range of motion
Ears: muffling, dizziness/ clicking
Throat: difficulty swallowing, prolonged speech
Dental Destruction include: traumatic occlusion, clenching, bruxism (grinding),
abrasion (wearing down), chipping of natural, restored/ denture teeth,
looseness of teeth, bone loss without gum inflammation and movement of teeth
(spreading, crowding, loss of teeth & bite changes).