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.

However, mouth breathing isn’t considered normal and it can even be harmful to your oral
health. If you breathe through your mouth regularly, you should be aware of how it might
impact your smile. Here’s how mouth breathing could negatively impact dental health!

Decrease Saliva Production

One of the biggest effects of mouth breathing is causing dry mouth through decreased saliva
production. The air going in and out of your mouth causes your oral cavity to be much drier
than it would normally be. Dry mouth can lead to all kinds of oral health problems, including
chronic bad breath and an increased risk for gum disease.

Saliva is important to your teeth and gums. Not only does it help balance bacteria, but it
provides a buffer between your teeth and harmful plaque. When you breathe through your
mouth, you expose your oral cavity to bacteria that would normally be resolved through
adequate saliva production.

Cause Bacteria to Attack Tooth Enamel

Since your mouth is drier as a result of mouth breathing, this can lead to an increased risk for
cavities. Without saliva to protect your teeth, bacteria are free to attack tooth enamel, wearing
away this protective layer of your teeth to expose the softer tissues underneath. Even if you
brush and floss regularly, mouth breathing could disrupt your oral health.

People who breathe through their mouth may increase their risk for cavities. If you can’t
breathe through your mouth for whatever reason, talk to your dentist about what you can do
to keep your tooth enamel healthy and protect your smile from decay.

Can Affect Mouth Development

If your child breathes through his or her mouth, this could actually affect the development of
their smile. Mouth breathing may result in a severe overbite as your child grows up because it
encourages the upper jaw to grow more than the lower one. Mouth breathing may also cause
gummy smile, which is when there’s too much gum tissue covering the teeth.

If your child gets used to breathing through their mouth—some children simply do this out of
habit—it may cause sleep problems too. In adults, mouth breathing is affiliated with snoring,
which could point to obstructive sleep apnea. If your child breathes through their mouth
regularly, talk to your dentist or schedule an appointment with their primary care doctor to
ensure nothing is preventing them from breathing through their nose.

Mouth breathing isn’t ideal in any situation, but it could be harmful if it’s done constantly or on
a regular basis. Unless you have some type of health issue preventing you from breathing
through your nose, your nose is the best bet to keep your mouth moist and less likely to be
affected by harmful oral bacteria. Talk to your dentist about your mouth breathing to see if it’s
affected your smile!

The post Can Mouth Breathing Negatively Impact Your Dental Health? appeared first on Your Dental Health Resource.