The trouble with bite disorders

By ChicagoHealers.com Practitioner Raymond G. Hatland, DDS© Dreamstime.comApproximately 80% of all people have some kind of bite discrepancy, and about 70% of these people will have destructive oral habits or compression disorders such as clenching, bruxing, or grinding their teeth together because of their bite discrepancy. These oral habits are the main reason patients get headaches and injure the jaw joints, known as the temporomandibular joint (TMJ). Oral compression habits are the second most common reason for having pain in the teeth or cold sensitivity. Signs and symptomsHow do you know if you have a bite problem and/or a compression disorder such as clenching or bruxing? Here are some tips for recognizing potential bite discrepancies:

• Hypersensitive teeth
• Headaches more than once a week.
• Enlarged jaw muscles
• Keeping your teeth together for long periods during the day
• Waking up with pain or stiffness in your jaw
• Difficulty sleeping and waking up two or three times during the night
• Mild to moderate wear facets on your teeth (this usually takes a dentist to see)
• Clicking or popping sounds in your TMJ when you open or close
• Grating sounds, called crepitus, in your TMJ when you open or close
• Chronic neck tensions or low back pain
• Unable to hold a chiropractic adjustment or manipulation
• History of trauma to the head or jaw from a car accident or fall

Treatment falls into two categories: professional and self-treatment. Professional treatmentProfessional treatments vary a great deal between practitioners depending on their educational background, philosophy, and professional experience with patients. Also, the degree of severity of the problem in each patient can increase the need for extensive treatments vs. very conservative or moderate interventions. The need for surgery on the TMJ is very rare. Because compressive disorders are energized by an increase in chronic or acute stress, professional treatment should be focused on doing procedures or using appliances that will lower stress levels in the TMJ, mouth, and throughout the body. 1. Intraoral appliances that can be worn at night, correctly fitted, and adjusted to a perfectly balanced bite can greatly decrease nighttime bruxism. These occlusal appliances should lighten the pressures in the TMJ and lower muscle tension. They also should be easy to wear and bring overnight relief from pain, sleeplessness, and jaw stiffness in the morning. The cost of these occlusal appliances range from $300 to $2,000. It has been my experience that price is not an indicator of effectiveness. An ideally fitted and adjusted appliance cannot be done with over-the-counter products; it requires a well-trained professional and hands-on placement.2. Many times, correcting bite or occlusal discrepancies is needed for the patient to feel comfortable, pain-free, and functional. Equilibrating the bite not only can lead to immediate relief but also to long-term stability and prevention of further symptoms. There are numerous other health benefits that come with an ideal bite, and patients often feel a sense of well being as many muscles relax not only in the jaw but down the spine. 3. I have found various in-office energetic treatments — such as the Scenar device, Yuen method, Feldenkreis method, and various kinesiology techniques — to be extremely helpful in shortening the duration of treatment. Also, exercises that the patient can do at home can be very useful. 4. Various de-stressing therapies outside of dentistry can be very helpful and even required for successful treatment. I have found chiropractic, napropathic, and osteopathic therapies, physical therapy, and psychological and/or energetic therapies to be quite useful. Self-treatment techniques1. I give each patient a simple mantra: “Lips together, teeth apart.” This can have a very powerful effect of bringing awareness to what the patient is doing during the day with his or her jaw. It also gives a chance for the patient to stop clenching. 2. Tell your patient to take a deep breath, find out where too much stress is coming into his or her life, and then take steps to change the way he or she deals with it.If your patients have any of the above symptoms to point to potential bite discrepancies, ask them to contact a dentist who treats temporomandibular joint problems.For more information, please visit www.ChicagoHealers.com.