Your joints, muscles, and teeth function together.
What do you think about when you think of orthodontic or TMJ treatments? You likely envision fixing an issue with the alignment of your teeth or jaws, and you wouldn’t be wrong — but the field of preventive orthodontics is beginning to demonstrate that there’s more to it than just this. After all, your temporomandibular joint (TMJ), jaw, teeth, nerves, and muscles all work together to perform even the smallest movements in your jaw. It’s a complex relationship that allows you to chew, speak, and swallow.
Since these elements are so interconnected, an issue with one can cause or worsen issues with the others. As a result, a treatment that evaluates and addresses issues with each of these elements to create an ideal bite gives you better, longer-lasting results. An ideal bite looks aesthetically pleasing, but it also allows the TMJ and the muscles of your face to operate exactly the way they’re meant to. This helps prevent future issues from arising with these elements of your jaw. To help you understand why this is so important and how it works, we’ve explained the link between your TMJ, muscle health, and orthodontics.
TMJ disorder can affect nearby muscles.
When your temporomandibular joint isn’t functioning properly, the muscles around it try to pick up the slack. The result can be a chain reaction that involves muscles not just in your face and jaw but your neck, shoulders, and upper back as well. They can become tense and sore as a result, which may cause frequent headaches. Over time, however, the change in the way the muscles in your face and jaw are used can also change the appearance of your face. Muscles that are picking up the slack and being overused can become larger, while those that are no longer working enough shrink. This may be more prominent on one side of your jaw on the other, causing your jaws to look asymmetrical, or it may change the appearance of your chin, lips, or the overall shape of your face.
Fascinatingly, the joints and muscles around your jaw are so interconnected that TMD can even cause issues with your neck. If your TMJ is uneven or imbalanced, that can impact the way you hold your neck as well, leading to a head tilt. Thankfully, identifying and remedying the root cause allows these muscles to function the way they’re meant to again, which will also help them build up strength where they need it. This helps remedy head tilts and returns muscles to their proper size, making positive changes to your face shape!
Muscles impact the way children’s jaws and teeth develop.
The muscles of your mouth and face exert constant forces on the teeth and jaws of children, so they have a surprisingly huge impact on the development of children’s teeth and jaws. It’s amazing to think about, but small details like the resting position of your child’s tongue or the way they swallow can impact the eventual shape of their face and their need for orthodontic care. The tongue’s resting position is meant to be lightly pressed against the upper palate. This position helps your child’s jaws grow properly, but issues like tongue ties or habitual mouth breathing cause them to hold their tongue more toward the lower part of their mouth. This prevents their upper jaw from growing wide enough to fit all their adult teeth, leading to overcrowding and crooked teeth that will need to be treated through orthodontic care.
Similarly, incorrect swallowing habits in children, such as when they use their lower lip instead of their tongue to facilitate swallowing, can also inhibit jaw growth. This is because the habit applies frequent pressure to the lower jaw, preventing it from growing to the size it should and leading to overcrowded and crooked adult teeth. In some cases, it can cause a noticeable difference in the size of a child’s upper and lower jaws, impacting the appearance of their face.
Tongue posture can cause your teeth to shift over time.
Your tongue is an incredibly strong muscle — it’s even one of the strongest muscles in your body! If you habitually press it against your teeth instead of resting it in the proper position against the roof of your mouth, it can slowly cause your teeth to angle outward. This habit can cause your teeth to begin shifting forward again, even after you’ve received orthodontic care, so it’s vital to address the root cause by remedying the habit itself.
Orthodontic Issues and TMJ Disorder
TMDs have a wide range of causes, including injuries to the jaw or surrounding muscles, but orthodontic issues are some of the biggest causes of the condition. When your jaw is misaligned or your teeth are uneven, it can put extra stress on the joint every time you move it. If it’s constant, this extra stress can become TMJ disorder. Thankfully, this is where the interconnected nature of the different components of your face and jaw begin to really benefit you! Just as an issue with one element of your jaw can lead to multiple issues, a treatment for one part of your jaw can also benefit the rest of it, especially if that treatment is designed with the entirety of your jaw in mind! A great preventive orthodontic treatment will straighten your teeth as well as find and help you achieve your jaw’s ideal position. This helps prevent future issues with your teeth and TMJ by allowing every element of your jaw to work at its best.
If you’re already suffering from a TMD, your dentist can still use orthodontic treatments to align your jaw properly, though he may use other treatments as well. The results are truly stunning! One of our patients, Lori, stated that after being in pain for over 30 years, “within a few weeks, pain started to go away. Seven months later, my problems and pain were totally gone. I am still astounded (in a good way) over it.”
Preventive orthodontics can protect your child from experiencing many of these issues.
If you have a young child, the fact that their teeth and jaws are still growing means we can prevent poorly developed jaws and crooked or overcrowded teeth before they negatively impact them! Starting as early as three years old, we can take steps to resolve issues like mouth breathing and tongue posture. This helps your child’s jaws develop properly, which in turn helps prevent overcrowding and crooked teeth. Not only will this help the appearance of your child’s face and jaw as they grow older, but it will save you money by reducing their need for orthodontic treatments, like braces or tooth extractions, in the future, which is an outcome both you and your child will appreciate!
The network of nerves, muscles, and joints that allow your jaw to function properly is incredibly complex; so much so that it is downright amazing! This complexity means that it’s wise for orthodontic and TMD treatments to consider your jaw as a whole so each element of it can work at its full potential. If you’re interested in looking into orthodontic or TMD treatments for yourself or preventive orthodontic treatment for your child, feel free to call and schedule an appointment with your dentist in St Albans, VT, at any time.