TMJ dysfunction (jaw affiliated problems)

(Clenching, Grinding and "positional" Strain)

Many problems, which people believe are to do with other factors, in fact maybe due to the teeth and associated joints and muscles. Some of the common repetitive headaches you may get are due to the daytime and more so the nighttime grinding of your teeth, we call this bruxism. Clenching may show the same symptoms and signs.

This kind of problem as well as another called Myofascial Pain Dysfunction Syndrome has been associated with not only headaches but face ache-namely pain in and around the eye, pain in the area of the cheek bones, pain in the neck and shoulders, pain at the angle of the jaw, pain in the temporal area and pain in the back of the head.

In some cases it may be teeth touching and interfering with each other during movements of the jaws. These teeth under normal conditions should not be touching or interfering with each other, this may be rectified with correct trimming of the teeth to return a normal movement pattern.

In some cases it may be missing teeth which has allowed other teeth to drift and move into positions which again give interferences.

In some cases the bruxism is so severe that in fact a lot of the pain is in fact "cramp" of the muscles giving this pain when they are being reused or the production of lactic acid in the muscles giving the longer lasting dull ache. If it is the temporal muscles that this is where the so-called "stress headaches" seem to be concentrated.

Due to the complexity of this condition if you suffer from any of the above conditions it may be time you see a dentist who may be able to help.