Uncomfortable bite

Do you feel discomfort in your teeth when you bite? It may be due to an uneven bite. This could occur as a result of one tooth contacting early, or when the teeth do not fit each other appropriately.  This uneven bite pattern may be a result of misaligned teeth, missing teeth, temporomandibular joint dysfunction/disorder (TMD), or a combination of all the factors.

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Missing teeth

Often you would hear your dental surgeon advising you to replace your missing tooth. Not realizing the significance of the same, this piece of advice usually gets ignored.  Having all your teeth in place will give you a balanced bite. If one or more, is missing, it would alter your bite alignment, straining the group of muscles that control functions such as chewing, swallowing, and speaking thereby compromising your jaw joint causing an outbreak of serious symptoms.

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Gum diseases

When the alignment of our lower jaw in relation to the upper jaw is altered, an imbalance is created in the coordinated movements of the tongue, TMJ and associated muscles. This progresses to disturbed sleep and breathing issues due to a lack of sufficient space for the smooth flow of air in and out of our system.  As a compensatory mechanism, the lower jaw tries to align itself correctly while we sleep causing night grinding. Grinding of the teeth creates a tension of the ligaments connected to the teeth causing it to become weak, progressing to gum diseases and loosened teeth.

 

Fractured teeth

A stable bite simply means, the lower teeth fitting comfortably and evenly into the teeth of the upper jaw while biting. A fractured tooth disturbs one's stable bite causing excessive strain on the TMJ and the related muscles of the face. So, if you notice that a part of your tooth structure is chipped off or broken and you also suffer from pain in your temporomandibular joint or difficulty while opening or closing your mouth, you could rightly suspect a condition called temporomandibular joint disorder/dysfunction (TMD). Wear off of teeth (Attrition/Abfraction) is early to a late indicator of a TMD.

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Pain on chewing

Temporomandibular joint disorder is a condition that affects movements of the Jaw Joints. Coordinated movements of the left and right TMJ is most essentially required when we chew food.  If there is an obstruction in the smooth movements of the TMJ, the muscles that are involved in this coordinated movement will overwork to compensate for this obstruction, to a point beyond which a nagging pain is experienced on chewing food, which beyond doubt is an indicator that your temporomandibular joint needs to be assessed.

 

Teeth sensitivity

Do you have short sudden sharp pain while consuming hot and cold beverages or food? the sensitivity of teeth due to decay is a common issue that most of us have, what is more important is that we check if there is an underlying temporomandibular joint disorder. A problem with your temporomandibular joint could lead to habits such as night grinding called bruxism and clenching during the day. Prolonged practice of these habits causes tooth structures to get worn or fractured off and can also cause gum diseases and thereby sensitivity of the teeth.

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Toothache

A bad or uneven bite due to misaligned, loose teeth, or missing teeth can irritate tissue supporting the teeth due to excess pressure. This irritation can cause one to feel a sharp pain on the teeth, commonly mistaken for a decayed tooth. Since our bite is always linked to the jaw joint it can lead to damage to the temporomandibular joint. Sometimes the opposite also happens, where a disorder of the joint can cause your bite to get altered leading to toothache, so it is essential to understand if toothache type pain is actually due to your tooth or as a result of temporomandibular joint damage. eg; You have extracted multiple teeth thinking they were from the teeth, but the pain persists.

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