Jaw Problems and Headaches!

Peripheral to day-to-day dentistry but equally important is the subject of Dental Occlusion…. a fancy word for something we must do every day – bring our jaws together and bite!

When we examine your mouth, we look at teeth, gums, soft tissue (tongue, cheeks, lips), and the bite.

Around 1 in 4 people may have some symptoms of bite problems, also known as TMJD. Men and women are equally affected, although women tend to ask for treatment more often than men. This may be attributable to recent research linking the menopause and hormonal changes to this condition.

Causes

If your teeth are misaligned in any way, this will cause not only problems to your teeth but also the gums and specifically the TMJ (the temporo-mandibular joint) and the muscles that move your jaw.

Generically these are called ‘occlusal’ problems, and some common causes are outlined below:

·???????Teeth are out of line

·???????Teeth are heavily worn or constantly breaking

·???????Fillings have fractured

·???????A tight or restricted bite when moving your teeth side to side

·???????Teeth that are loose or receding from the gum line

·???????Crowns that are worn and loose

·???????Missing teeth causing a bite imbalance

?Typical Symptoms

The main symptoms are pain, clicking, or grinding in your jaw joint (this is just in front of your ear); headaches or migraines - especially first thing in the morning, tenderness on biting. There is also

·???????Teeth constantly ache

·???????Pain behind your eyes, sinus pain, and pains in your neck and shoulders…sometimes even back muscles are involved.

·???????Clicking, popping or grating sounds in the jaw joints

·???????Tired jaws

·???????Teeth are loose

·???????Ringing or buzzing in your ears

·???????Difficulty in opening or closing your mouth

·???????Facial or throat pain

Reasons

If your jaw is in the wrong position, the muscles that move the jaw must work a lot harder to compensate, and this creates fatigue which ultimately causes muscle spasms and pulling on the jaw joint.

Factors such as clenching or grinding your teeth, especially when you are concentrating on daily tasks such as working on a computer, driving a car, cleaning the house, or going to the gym, often propagate the condition.

Other situations may occur when you wake up in the morning with a stiff jaw or tenderness when you bite together. This may be caused by clenching or grinding your teeth during sleep, and you probably don’t even realise you are doing it.

Regular severe tension headaches, neck and shoulder pain, as well as stress may well be attributable to these types of jaw problems. Any pain or discomfort on the side of your face, especially around your ears or jaw joints, are also symptoms of TMJ problems.

Treatments

Depending on the symptoms you are having, the aim is always to pinpoint the occlusal (bite) problem, e.g. various muscles may be sore when tested, or there may be broken and worn areas of your teeth which would indicate that you are grinding your teeth – the most common sign of an incorrect bite.

As with any joint pain, a soft diet is often recommended as it will place less stress on the joint.

Once the bite, jaw joint, teeth, and gum health have been fully assessed, we usually recommend a dental guard known as a ‘splint’ this is to balance the bite and protect the teeth whilst allowing freedom for your teeth to move over one another, removing any restrictions. There are different types of splints depending on the likely cause of the bite problem and pain, but these should always be tailor-made and of plastic (acrylic), never made in soft rubber as this often causes you to clench or grind more.

This appliance must be measured and fitted very accurately so that when you bite on it, all your teeth meet at the same time in a position where your muscles are relaxed.

Once the pain / TMJ problems have improved, then we often move to a more long-term solution which can be

·???????Teeth straightening or orthodontics - especially if your teeth are too far out of line or in a totally incorrect bite position. These are now much more acceptable, comfortable, and discreet.

·???????Building worn teeth up with dental bonding or veneers – especially if they have worn with a grinding or bruxism habit.

·???????Tooth adjustment or equilibration, where your teeth are carefully adjusted to meet evenly. Changing the direction and position of the slopes that guide your teeth together can also often help to reposition the jaw.

·???????Replacing any missing teeth. The TMJ needs equal support from both sides of both jaws. The chewing action is designed to work properly only when all your teeth are present and in the correct position.

Botox to the jaw muscles can also help initially, but we like to find the cause and treat it rather than the symptoms. Physiotherapy exercises can often help, and we can happily recommend these to you if required.

So, in short, if you feel you have any symptoms above, then it is best to get in touch - doing nothing will create an even bigger headache than the one you may be experiencing!

If you think you suffer from jaw problems, please get in touch with us at www.harleystreetdentalstudio.com/tmj-treatment/