Do you have regular headaches or persistent jaw pain? If so, this could mean the presence of serious disorders, such as TMD or even bruxism. In today’s blog, your Syosset, NY, dentist talks about how we can stop your headaches with an oral appliance, and in the process prevent dental damage too.
The Causes of Headaches and Jaw Pain
If you have persistent headaches, as well as jaw pain, popping or crackling sensations in the jaw, and aches in the neck and shoulders, this could be related to disorders like TMD and bruxism. With TMD, you have excess strain on the joints connecting your jaw and skull, which complicates how you open and close your mouth and lead to major discomfort. Bruxism means you grind and clench your teeth on a nightly basis, which places serious pressure on the smile. Untreated TMD could lead to bruxism and vice versa. Both could be caused by changes to bite balance, such as missing teeth, malocclusion, injury to the face or jaw, or complications with the growth of the jaw and certain oral structures. High levels of stress could be a factor too!
The Risks for Your Smile
Without treatment, TMJ disorder could mean major discomfort that grows more severe with time, and could impact how fully you open and close your mouth. With bruxism, the pressure could wear down tooth structure or even crack or chip teeth. The teeth could appear shorter or uneven, and the damage exposes the inner dentin to bacteria, increasing the risk of tooth decay and even an infected tooth. Without care, these complications alone could mean an increased risk of tooth loss.
Care with an Oral Appliance
To bring relief from your headaches and to prevent major issues with your oral health, we could offer help with a custom oral appliance. To begin, our team will take a detailed digital image of your smile from multiple angles, creating a digital impression with them. The impressions will let us plan and craft the oral appliance with precision and accuracy. The resulting device is worn as you sleep and repositions the jaw to ease strain on the joints. To avoid damaged teeth, we could use this to act as a barrier between the upper and lower teeth so you reduce the chances of further injury.
If you have any questions about how we treat headaches and jaw pain with an oral appliance, then contact our team today. We can also repair any damage that has already occurred.
Do You Have Questions About Avoiding Dental Pain?
We would like to help you enjoy optimal oral health and a comfortable smile. If you have questions about correcting the balance and health of your smile, then contact our Syosset, NY dental office today at 516-433-2211.
