Life Insurance With TMJ Disorder
Jaw joint pain is common, often under-diagnosed, and treated in a place most medical questions do not ask about.
That is the practical quirk of this condition: your splint, your dental referral and your grinding are all real history, and they live with your dentist.
This page covers what we would ask, and the connection worth mentioning.
The short answer
Temporomandibular joint disorder is pain and dysfunction of the jaw joint, and two things make it unusual on an application. It is usually managed by dentists rather than doctors, so it may sit outside your GP record. And it is frequently linked to teeth grinding, which is the thing worth declaring alongside it.
What it is
The temporomandibular joints connect the jaw to the skull just in front of the ears. TMJ disorder covers pain in those joints and the surrounding muscles, clicking or locking of the jaw, restricted opening, and often associated headache and earache.
It is commonly managed with advice on jaw use, soft diet, painkillers, physiotherapy and a bite splint worn at night. Some people have steroid injections into the joint, and a small number have surgery. Teeth grinding and clenching are frequently involved.
Why it comes up on an application
- Most of the management is dental, so a question about doctors and specialists may not capture it. Mention the dentist and any splint anyway.
- Teeth grinding, bruxism, is the common companion and has its own page here. If you grind, say so, because it explains the joint problem.
- Earache and headache are frequently part of TMJ, which means some people have been investigated for ear or neurological causes first. Those investigations count.
- Injections into the joint, and any surgery, are procedures with dates and should be named.
- Persistent facial pain is occasionally imaged, and any scan is an investigation.
- Stress and anxiety often sit behind clenching, and if either has been treated, that treatment is its own entry.
What we would ask you
- When the jaw problem started, and whether it clicks, locks or limits opening
- Whether you have a bite splint or have seen a dentist or specialist about it
- Whether you grind or clench your teeth
- Whether you have had injections into the joint or any surgery
- Whether your ears or head were investigated before the jaw was identified
- Whether you are currently off work or working reduced hours because of an accident, injury or illness
- Whether you are waiting on any medical tests, appointments or treatment
- Whether you have been diagnosed with or treated for cancer in the last five years
- Whether a parent, brother or sister was diagnosed with cancer, heart disease or a stroke before 65
- Any medication you take
- Whether you smoke, and your date of birth
Your Dentist Has Half Of This History
This is the quirk that makes TMJ different from everything else in this group, and it is easy to work around once you know.
Most medical application questions are framed around GPs, hospitals and specialists. TMJ is commonly diagnosed and managed by a dentist, who made your splint, perhaps referred you, and has notes you have never seen.
So the useful thing is not to filter your answer by who treated you. If you have a night splint, have been told you have TMJ, or have had jaw treatment of any kind, say so, even though none of it involved a doctor. It is still a diagnosed condition under active management.
Mention The Grinding
Bruxism is the single most useful thing to add alongside TMJ, and the two are frequently part of the same story.
Grinding or clenching loads the jaw joints and the muscles around them, which is why a bite splint is such a common treatment: it protects the teeth and reduces the load. Many people only learn they grind when a dentist points out the wear.
Stress is often behind the clenching, and if you have been treated for stress or anxiety that is a separate and more substantial entry in its own right. Our page on bruxism covers the grinding side, and the depression and anxiety page covers the other.
Which cover is relevant
The usual starting point, and a jaw joint is rarely a factor in what is available.
Relevant where the pain is severe or persistent, and for anybody whose work depends on talking all day, because jaw pain and sustained speech do not combine well.
Pays on diagnosis of a listed serious condition, and this is not one. Worth having for the risks it does cover.
Common questions
Do I declare TMJ if only my dentist has treated it?+
Yes. Do not filter your answer by who treated you. If you have a night splint, a TMJ diagnosis or have had jaw treatment, it is a diagnosed condition under management even though no doctor was involved.
Should I mention teeth grinding?+
Yes, and it is the most useful thing to add. Grinding loads the jaw joint and is frequently part of the same story, which is why a bite splint is such a common treatment. Many people only learn they grind when a dentist spots the wear.
I was investigated for ear problems first. Does that count?+
Yes. TMJ often presents with earache and headache, so people are frequently investigated for ear or neurological causes before the jaw is identified. Those investigations belong in an answer about tests whatever they found.
I had an injection into the joint. How do I describe it?+
As a procedure, with roughly when. Steroid injections into the temporomandibular joint are performed by a clinician and are more than advice or a splint.
Will TMJ affect my life insurance?+
It is rarely the deciding factor, and the decision rests on your whole picture and belongs to the insurer. Anything treated for stress or anxiety behind the clenching is more likely to feature than the jaw itself.
Cover that often goes with this
The gaps we most often find sitting next to this one.