We often take chewing and biting of our food for granted. But, what we presume to be normal may not always be so. It is quite common for people to have an improper or an uneven bite and not realize it.
What Causes an Improper Bite?
There can be multiple reasons right that lead to an improper bite such as heredity, dental procedures, injury, or functional causes.
Some of these causes are:
- Congenitally missing teeth
- Trauma to the jaw due to injury
- Teeth not replaced post-dental extractions
- Broken teeth
- Habits such as tongue thrusting that lead to unnatural spaces between teeth.
- Teeth grinding and clenching
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How Does a Bad Bite Lead to TMJ Disorders?
An improper or uneven bite leads to discomfort and gives an abnormal appearance to the face. In most instances, the teeth and the jaws adjust to allow the person to carry on their routine. But, in these ‘adjustment’ cases, the muscles and ligaments suffer silently.
The pressure of biting may be more on one side and less on the other. This imbalance leads to the excessive working of the structures on one side. The articular disc that exists in the TMJ gets worn out faster in the side that is taking more load. Subsequently, symptoms such as pain in the muscles of the jaw and neck, jaw stiffness, inability to open your mouth wide, pain in the ear and temple region appear.
These symptoms can be present in different combinations and people might not even be able to identify them.
Read More – Do you Have Gaps in Your Teeth?
If you are suffering from any of the above symptoms for a long time, visit your dentist today.
Orthodontics plays a major role in correcting an improper or a bad bite. Using braces or aligners, a bad bite can be corrected and TMJ Disorders treated.
Aligner therapy is very commonly used in the treatment of TMJ Disorders.
Correct your bite and live healthily :)
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1 Comment
Preeti · 02/15/2018 at 11:44 AM
Its an eye opener article! Dental health has always taken back seat in India, I hope to get more and more informative articles like this in future..