Are you suffering from jaw misalignment? If you’re experiencing the following symptoms, your upper and lower jaw might have trouble fitting together. A simple exam and x-rays can tell if your jaw is misaligned and if so, what you can do about it.

Pain in Your Jaw or Face

If you have generalized pain in your jaw or in your face, you may have a jaw misalignment. This pain may happen either when chewing or speaking or even when the jaw is at rest. When the pain consistently happens, it’s time to schedule an appointment to see if your jaw could be the culprit behind your pain.

Mouth Breathing

Saliva is an important aspect of your oral cavity. It helps teeth stay nourished and prevents them from drying out. When the mouth becomes dry, saliva can become acidic and damage the enamel on your teeth, leading to an increased risk for cavities. When you breathe through your mouth rather than through your nose, your mouth can become dry and this can affect your teeth.

Although mouth breathing happens under certain circumstances—such as when you have a cold—regular mouth breathing that occurs on a daily basis may point to a jaw misalignment. Getting this symptom checked out is essential to help your mouth protect your teeth from future problems.

Trouble Speaking

If it’s painful for you to speak at times or consistently, a jaw misalignment may be to blame. You may also be experiencing difficulty pronouncing certain words. These symptoms could mean your jaw is preventing you from speaking properly or being able to speak without pain. It isn’t normal to experience pain when speaking, so an evaluation with your dentist can help determine the problem.

What Treatment Is Available?

Many people have a jaw misalignment and don’t realize it. Overbites and underbites are two of the most common types of malocclusions, or misaligned bites. As we’ve seen, these bites can interfere with many aspects of your life, including eating, breathing, speaking, chewing, and self-confidence.

Fortunately, misaligned jaws can be treated. Depending on the unique alignment of your jaw as well as the severity of the misalignment, you may be able to receive orthodontic treatment, cosmetic dentistry work, or other procedures to help put your jaw back in place and stop your pain and discomfort.

Are you seeing symptoms of jaw misalignment in your daily life? An incorrect bite can be fixed, so schedule an appointment with your dentist or orthodontist today to discuss how a jaw misalignment may be impacting your life. You can live pain-free and have confidence in your smile again with treatment!

The post If You’re Experiencing These Symptoms, You Could Be Suffering from Jaw Misalignment appeared first on Your Dental Health Resource.

You can take simple steps to stop clenching your teeth and prevent damage to your gum tissue
and tooth enamel with the help of your dentist. Here’s how.

Step One: Visit Your Dentist

Although you may want to jump right into the lifestyle changes, take time to visit your dentist.
Your dentist is going to be your most valuable asset when it comes to curbing your teeth
clenching habit. Trying to fix the problem on your own is not going to be worth ruining your
teeth!

A dentist can assess the damage and provide some immediate help. A custom-made
mouthguard can help you protect your smile from further damage while you take active steps
to stop the problem. Although a mouthguard can help tremendously, it won’t stop your jaw
clenching habit on its own. It will, however, stop your teeth from taking the full impact of the
damage.

Your dentist can also evaluate your teeth for any alignment problems that could be contributing
to your jaw clenching. For this, your dentist may refer you to an orthodontist to properly
address the problem.

Step Two: Minimize Stress

Stress is often the primary cause of jaw clenching and teeth grinding. The good news is that you
can take steps to reduce your stress. Your dentist and primary care physician can help, but here
are a few good starting points:

 Exercise regularly. Exercising can help release tension and majorly cut down on stress.

 Take on less at work. If you’re logging in many hours and not getting enough rest, you
can take on less at work to better manage your stress and improve your health!

 Meditate. Meditation has been shown to help people manage stress, chronic pain, and
much more. Take a few minutes every day to simply pay attention to your breathing.

 Get professional help. Know when to seek professional help for your stress
management.

Doing whatever is necessary to minimize stress is so important, as stress has other unhealthy
effects on the body and is suspected to be the cause of many illnesses.

Step 3: Adjust Your Bedtime Routine

Getting enough rest isn’t only an excellent way to help manage your stress, it can also help stop
your jaw clenching, especially if you do it while you sleep and don’t realize it.

To help wind down before bed, stay off all electronics for at least one hour before you go to
sleep. You can also avoid caffeine, coffee, tea, soda, and chocolate. All of these substances act
as stimulants and can impact your quality of sleep to prevent you from getting the proper rest
you need. Alcohol is another beverage that can disrupt your sleep!

If you clench your jaw and are noticing headaches, sore neck, face, or jaw muscles, it’s time to
make an appointment with your dentist. These are all signs that your jaw clenching is impacting
your life and you need to get help before it gets worse. Call your dentist today to get help
stopping your jaw clenching once and for all!

The post Steps to Stop Clenching Your Teeth appeared first on Your Dental Health Resource.

Sensitive Teeth

Clenching your jaw and grinding your teeth can actually wear down the enamel of your teeth. Enamel is the hard, shiny, protective layer over your teeth. Enamel protects the softer tissues of your teeth as well as your tooth’s root. When enamel is worn away, cold or hot foods and drinks can cause pain because your tooth’s root may be exposed! Once your enamel is gone, there’s no way to replace it. Your dentist can tell during your regular checkups if you’re experiencing enamel loss. One of the most common symptoms of loss of enamel is sensitive teeth.

Headaches or Migraines

If you clench your teeth while you’re sleeping, your jaw is essentially exerting great force onto your teeth with no buffer. Experts estimate this amount to be three to ten times as much force as is exerted when chewing food. This is a huge amount of pressure on your teeth! This immense pressure can cause tension headaches, especially migraines.

If you suffer from headaches, especially in the morning, you could be clenching your teeth at night and not know it. Other symptoms of teeth clenching include jaw or facial pain, and your teeth may hurt as well. A custom nightly mouthguard can help protect your teeth from clenching and grinding at night, as they absorb the impact of your teeth clenching!

Chipped or Fractured Teeth

Teeth clenching can lead to chipped or fractured teeth! Chips are unsightly and often evident when you smile. To make matters worse, teeth that have lost enamel are much more susceptible to chips and even cavities. Fractured teeth are also more prone to cavities, and can cause bacteria to get to your tooth’s root. Chipped or fractured teeth may not seem like a big problem, but those cracks in your teeth can lead to bigger cracks and could end up costing you your smile. Teeth are not made to withstand teeth-on- teeth pressure contact, and over time, your teeth could sustain considerable damage from clenching!

Loose Teeth

Because of the impact that teeth clenching has on your gums and the connective tissue that holds your teeth in place, teeth clenching can cause loose teeth. Your gums can become inflamed when exposed to the pressure of teeth clenching and grinding, which can lead to damaged connective ligaments and tissue.

Over time, this will lead your teeth to become loose and they could eventually fall out. Although teeth clenching doesn’t necessarily cause periodontal disease, if you have periodontal disease, teeth clenching can make it worse!

Teeth clenching and grinding has more consequences than you think. This practice can damage your teeth and gums, and increases your risk for tooth damage and tooth loss. Talk to your dentist if you think you clench your teeth at night, and ask him or her about signs of teeth grinding during your next visit. There are steps you can take to stop bruxism!

The post The Hazardous Side Effects of Clenching Your Teeth appeared first on Your Dental Health Resource.

TMJ happens when the jaw is misaligned or the joints that connect the upper and lower jaw have trouble operating as they should. This can lead to a variety of symptoms, including bruxism. Bruxism puts an immense amount of pressure on your jaw, up to ten times more force than when you’re chewing food! What are the causes and symptoms of bruxism, and how can you find relief?

Causes of Bruxism

Bruxism can be caused by an improper bite, which means that your top and bottom row of teeth don’t align like they should. This can happen if orthodontic work is needed and the teeth need to be repositioned in order to align properly. Your dentist can help you determine if orthodontic treatment is needed to correct the problem.

Bruxism can also be caused by TMJ disorder, in which the complex joints that connect your upper and lower jaw aren’t working correctly. Your dentist can diagnose TMJ, as many symptoms of this disorder are mistaken for other health problems such as headaches, earaches, and facial muscle pain.

Anxiety and stress could also be the root cause of your teeth grinding and stiff jaw muscles. If you’re experiencing any symptoms, talk with your dentist about treatment!

Symptoms You May Be Experiencing

The symptoms of temporomandibular stiffness and jaw clenching can range from mildly irritating to very painful. Symptoms may include:

 Ear popping

 Frequent ear infections

 Clicking or grinding jaw noises when speaking, chewing, or even just opening your mouth

 Headaches, ranging from dull to migraines

 Tender jaw muscles

If you have any of these irritating symptoms, visit your dentist. Dentists are trained to spot problems that could point to a possible TMJ disorder or bruxism when other doctors may not be certain of the cause and try different methods before finding the root problem.

Finding Relief from Stiffness and Jaw Pain

If you suffer from stiffness or pain in your jaw, remember that there is treatment! As bruxism can lead to fractured and sensitive teeth and even periodontal disease and tooth loss, getting the above symptoms checked out by your dentist is crucial for proper treatment and relief.

Your dentist can diagnose the problem and help determine the cause of your jaw stiffness and bruxism, which will determine the treatment. Perhaps you need orthodontic work to correct an improper bite. You may need to wear a nightly mouth guard to protect your smile from bruxism. Your dentist may also need to repair any existing damage to your teeth as a result of bruxism. If you’re suffering from temporomandibular stiffness and bruxism, don’t hesitate to seek help. Your dentist is trained to identify and treat these problems before they end up costing you your smile. Don’t live with the symptoms—there is relief at your dentist office today!

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