TMJ: the basics

People have at some point already heard about TMJ, and have also wondered, "What is TMJ?" This is usually associated with the disease itself, known more as TMJ disorder or TMJ syndrome, but not everyone has stopped to think about the real TMJ. It is the temporomandibular joint, the hinge connecting the mandible or lower jawbone to the upper temporal bone. It is the joint that lets you move your mouth open and close or side to side, and you need to have a healthy TMJ in order to do these movements smoothly. Otherwise, the bones will simply be rubbing against one another in the absence of a cartilage and then impact surrounding nerves, causing pain in other parts of your body.