Jaw Joint Problems
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| • | Bad Bite: Known as a malocclusion, a patient's bite can cause disruption in the positioning of the jaw joint. This can include an overbite, underbite, crossbite and more. The alignment of your teeth affects the jaw joint. In many cases, this would require correction with an orthodontic device including braces, aligners, spacers and more. |
| • | Missing Teeth: Losing adult teeth is problematic for your oral health, including your jaw joint. Many patients assume that a lost tooth can alleviate spacing issues in their mouth, and though it does free up space, it allows for uncontrolled movement of neighboring teeth. The shifting of teeth alters your bite, and you can pretty much count on that it won't be in your favor. |
| • | Applied Force: Any form of blunt force trauma to your face can move your jaw hinge joints out of alignment. Whether it was a car accident, a fall, a sports injury, an assault, or even just an accidental elbow to the face, the jaw joint can be shifted leading to much larger problems. |
| • | Arthritis: Arthritis is pain in the joints due to inflammation. Arthritis in the jaw and surrounding joints can cause pain due to swelling, inflammation and constant use. |
| • | Wear Over Time: There are muscles that strain with wear and tear over the course of time. This includes the muscles that surround our jaw joints. We will need to see how we can strengthen these muscles and provide relief. It may include decreasing inflammation and resting the joint with a dental appliance. |
| • | Pain or Tiredness in the Joint: You may be experiencing any range of a painful sensation, for some this may be mild, and for others it can be excruciating. Some patients report feeling like your joint is tired. |
| • | Unusual Sensation: You may have a harder time describing it, but feel a sensation of popping, clicking, or just like the hinge can come undone. |
| • | Inability to Fully Open or Close: Patients tend to think of lockjaw as being fully unable to open or close their jaw, but it can be any level of inability to use. |
| • | Facial Pain: Various facial pain can be a harder symptom for some patients to recognize and associate with their jaw joint. Disruption of the joint can cause pain in your ear, eyebrow, cheek bones, it can even be the cause for headaches or migraines. |
| • | Teeth Alignment: We may need to correct and restore your bite. Even if you have had orthodontic work in the past, something may have caused your alignment to shift. In some cases, wearing a dental appliance can help. For many patients, this may mean braces, a retainer, or more. |
| • | Restore Missing Teeth: Missing teeth is problematic for your bite, for your bone health, and can even cause disruption in your jaw joint. We will want to restore missing teeth. This can be done with various treatment options including a dental bridge or denture, or we can even fully restore missing teeth using a dental implant and crown. |
| • | Orthognathic Surgery: Surgery is a choice we can make when other non-surgical options fail. Surgically resetting the joint into alignment can help. |
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The jaw joint is an area of our body that we don't think of until it's a problem. We use our jaw joint continuously throughout each day; we use it to chew, breathe and speak. Pain, discomfort or the inability to use it, can make this small task seem huge.