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The way that
our teeth meet and slide against each other
is like a suit that fits it's owner rather than
the owner having to fit the suit. A lot of patients
have small errors in their bite which make them
put their teeth together in a position of comfort
rather than the right position. These tiny interferences
have precisely the same effect as a nail protruding
from a shoe. Instead of limping, patients jaw muscles
are left to take up the strain of keeping their
jaw in a comfortable position and it is usually
in these muscles that the pain begins simply because
the muscles can never relax.
Some muscles close the jaw, other open it, move
it back or forwards and another group allows for
sideways jaw movement. Neck, back and shoulder muscles
also contribute as bracing muscles which allow our
jaws to move smoothly and efficiently.
If a patient's teeth don't fit and slide together
in harmony, one or more of these muscle groups may
begin to suffer from fatigue. This may be felt as
headaches, eye pain, shoulder pain - or pain from
any of the muscle groups described above. Stress
levels are known to make matters worse. Patient's
under pressure at work, at home or in their personal
lives are more likely to suffer from these problems
as are those who have recently changed job, had
a death in the family, moved house, divorced or
been put into a job that they cannot cope with.
We also know that each individual can cope with
some bite errors without getting symptoms at all.
These patients are living within their own limitations
without problems. Adding a certain amount of stress
to those patients lives, damaging any of the supporting
muscles as in a car accident or adding new errors
such as a dental crown which does not fit properly,
can push these patients from having no problems
at all to having lots of problems.
Sometimes it is a partner who knows that something
is wrong. Many spouses can hear their partner grinding
their teeth all night long. The patient only knows
that they do not wake refreshed. What is going on
here is that even when we are asleep our brain is
trying to position our jaw into a comfortable position.
The problem here is that this comfortable position
cannot be maintained - so the jaws grind against
each other in a never ending search for a good night's
sleep for their owner.
Every patient
is different. |
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