If you or someone in your family has ever suffered from TMJ disorder, or suspect that you are beginning to develop the condition – have you considered what it was that led you up to this moment? What a lot of people don’t realize is that their TMJ disorder may actually be caused by an improper bite relationship of the teeth.
When your teeth do not align properly, that means they require some type of modification of movement during biting and chewing. Doing this several times a day, day after day, eventually causes a noticeable difference inside of the TMJ as well. Since the jaws and teeth must be closed differently, the TMJ must also alter its function.
Even the slightest variation of normal function within the joint can cause long-term effects. Gradually the wear and tear placed on the joint turns into pain any time you have to chew, open or close.
Since the pain of TMJ disorder is sure to catch your eye, most people desire to treat the symptoms – fast. What most people don’t realize though, is that correcting the bite relationship of the teeth will stop the pain from reoccurring. When the teeth and jaws can function, as they ought to, no more strain is placed on the joint.
After addressing the pain, if you have TMJ disorder you owe it to yourself to have your biting patterns analyzed by a professional. East Cobb Orthodontics is happy to provide you with an orthodontic (bite) evaluation and assessment of your TMJ movements to determine whether or not your misaligned teeth could be causing your TMJ disorder. Call us today!