Teeth grinding is a common habit, as is jaw clenching. They are usually related to stress or anxiety but another thing they are often related to is Temporomandibular Joint Disorder (TMD).
TMD is a dental condition – a misaligned bite. Your lower jaw is not moving correctly against the skull in one or both jaw joints. A teeth grinding habit can actually be a cause of TMD, as the joints are slowly pushed out of alignment. Misaligned teeth can also be a cause with upper and lower teeth meeting incorrectly, creating tooth wear and tear.
Jaw muscles become strained trying to bring the teeth together correctly and the jaw area becomes chronically inflamed. The inflammation puts pressure on nerves, which send a pain message to the brain. There are several large nerves that run from the brain to the head, face, neck and shoulders, and have many branches. Pain registered in one branch of a nerve can cause pain to be registered in another branch and you then have two symptoms, such as jaw pain and shoulder pain.
Teeth Grinding a Symptom as Well as a Cause
Although teeth grinding can be a TMD cause, it can also be a TMD symptom. The chronic stress in the jaw muscles prevents them from relaxing and they clench or grind even though the brain has sent them no message to open the mouth or chew.
Teeth grinding can put very hard pressure on the teeth and if you grind while asleep, that is a lot of pressure for much of the 24-hour day. It can fracture or chip some of your teeth, and in fact chipped or fractured teeth are one of the TMD symptoms. It can also wear down the enamel and make it easier for bacteria to cause cavities.
Dr. Quigless is a fully qualified neuromuscular dentist and can diagnose and treat your TMD. The first step towards your relief of TMD pain and discomfort is to contact our St. Louis, Missouri office for a free neuromuscular consultation with Dr. Quigless.
The Missouri Dental Board and the ADA do not recognize the treatment of TMJ(neuromuscular dentistry) or cosmetic dentistry as a specialty. Further, the ADA does not require any additional training of dentists who perform or advertise these procedures.
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