HEAD AND NECK PAIN AND NEUROMUSCULAR DENTISTRY

By John Hackbarth, DDS Headaches and neck pains are unfortunate problems that people deal with in life. If you have daily or weekly headaches, or days-long headaches, it is almost like robbing you of a good life. There are many causes for headaches. Most headaches are caused by muscular tension and pain. Even severe ones. One of the most common causes is often called TMJ. The TMJ is the Temporomandibular joint. This is the jaw joint. Dysfunction of the jaw joint can cause pain, and the muscles that open and close your jaw go into spasm similar to a “Charlie horse.” TMJ is better called TMD or Temporomandibular Dysfunction. TMD is most often related to the way the teeth fit together, as well as clenching and grinding of the teeth. The way that your upper and lower teeth come together (your bite) is part of a system of teeth, muscles and joints. If your teeth do not fit together properly (misaligned bite), the muscles and joints have to work hard to get them together. Teeth when in function, should work like a fine set of gears. If one of the gears is mismatched something is going to break. It is the same with your jaw. Jaw joints can begin to make grinding noises and pop on opening and closing, and the muscles of the head and neck get into spasm and hurt. Stress and tension make things worse. Now I think we have what is the most effective way of getting folks back into normal function and out of this kind of pain. It is called neuromuscular dentistry. Neuromuscular dentistry utilizes technology to help get the jaw into a relaxed position, measuring where the joints and muscles are happy, thus reducing or eliminating pain and headaches. This approach has given consistently the best results so far seen. Following are a few of the more common symptoms that may are be associated with TMD. If you have one or more of them, you should visit a dentist. Sensitive teeth Pain in the jaw Pain in the neck Pressure in the face Headaches Clenching Grinding Locking jaw Restricted opening Vertigo