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Trismus is the inability to partially or even fully open the mouth. Trismus can both lead to food intake problems and make it difficult to speak. However, this symptom is important not only for the reasons mentioned above - it can be caused by both an abscess and a cancer.
Trismusmay occur in a patient of any age - it is associated with a large number of conditions that can cause this symptom. The mechanism by which the ability to open the mouth is disturbed is related to the disorders of the muscles of the temporomandibular joint, i.e. the masseter, temporal and wing muscles.
In the course of trismus, prolonged contraction of the above-mentioned structures occurs - this can be caused by both relatively mild and transient conditions, as well as much more serious diseases.
Trismus - causes
Trismus can be caused by both local pathologies within the temporomandibular joint and systemic diseases. The following are possible causes of trismus:
- changes directly related to the temporomandibular joint (abscesses in its vicinity, degeneration of its elements, congenital stiffening of the structures of this joint, but also injuries of the temporomandibular joint, neoplastic growths and inflammatory processes)
- tooth eruption disorder
- conditions after tooth resection (trismus may be a complication of tooth extraction)
- epilepsy
- brain abscess
- stroke
- pharyngeal abscess
- pharyngitis
- tetanus
- meningitis
- tetany
- hysteria
- condition after taking drugs (amphetamines have particular abilities to cause trismus)
- cancer of the central nervous system
- phlegmon of the floor of the mouth
- odontogenic periostitis
- actress
- consequences of the patient's bruxism (frequent grinding of the teeth, which may lead to the degeneration of the elements of the temporomandibular joint)
Read also: Otalgia - causes and treatment of ear pain
Trismus - symptoms
The most visible in the course of trismus is the difficult opening of the mouth. The effects of this condition can be bothproblems with chewing food, as well as yawning or even talking. Other complaints that occur in a patient with trismus depend on the cause of the symptom. Patients may develop, inter alia, aches and pains - e.g. a sore throat or earache. There may also be redness in the throat, headaches or fever.
Patients with degenerative changes in the temporomandibular joint may experience auditory creaking of the mandible and experience abnormal movement of the mandible while speaking or eating food.
Read also: Occlusion defects can cause migraines
Trismus - diagnosis and treatment
Trismus itself is not a disease - it is a symptom of some other disease. The occurrence of this problem makes it necessary to conduct a thorough diagnosis, because - as it was mentioned when discussing the causes of trismus - it can be caused by both a seemingly trivial pharyngitis and a dangerous neoplastic disease.
The medical history plays a fundamental role in the diagnosis of trismus - on its basis it is possible to decide exactly what kind of tests a given patient needs. In order to recognize the substrate of trismus, tests such as:
- ENT
- dental
- neurological
Imaging tests, such as X-ray, computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging (the mentioned ones can be used both to detect a possible brain tumor, and to identify an abscess or diagnose defects in the temporomandibular joint) can also be used in determining the cause of trismus. mandibular). If necessary, patients are also subjected to laboratory tests (e.g. in the case of suspected inflammatory process, where the presence of inflammatory markers in the blood serum may be assessed).
Finding the cause of trismus is also important because treating it focuses on the cause that caused it. Only after its detection, it is possible to start treatment of trismus - for example, if the trismus is caused by inflammation, then antibiotic therapy may be used. In turn, when this symptom is caused by tooth eruption disorders, then patients may undergo tooth extraction procedures.
