The use of cannabis in Canada is legal for medical purposes, such as pain relief or to relax the muscles. You may wonder how this is applicable to the dental industry? Cannabis can be used to help relieve symptoms of TMJD (temporomandibular joint disorder). The compound of cannabis that helps with these medicals benefits is known as Cannabidiol (CBD). CBD has no euphoric effect, which allows patients to receive medical benefits such as anti-pain, anti-anxiety, anti-psychotic, and or anti-spasm effects, without dysphoria. A study that was published through the US National Institute of Health helps support this. In addition, several anecdotal responses are supportive in this case. Patients said it relieved the clenching feeling that caused migraines over a long period of time. CBD is also an effective treatment option to deal with the inflammatory pain associated with TMJD.
The pain from TMJD is somatic. This means it stems from an area outside of the brain and the intestines. Medical marijuana can provide mild to moderate relief of this pain with the right dosage. TMJD pain is also chronic pain, if the underlying cause cannot be found and corrected. Treating chronic pain with traditional pain relievers such as opiates and over-the-counter pain relievers can have severe side effects. Medical marijuana has few, if any long-term effects. Furthermore, as mentioned above, no dosage of medical marijuana is known to be lethal.
As medicinal cannabis becomes more widely accepted, we expect to see more dosage forms available for patients of TMJD.
For more questions about treating this disorder, contact us at Toronto Beach Dental.
– Dr. Jay Rabinovich