{"id":1132,"date":"2020-02-24T15:01:54","date_gmt":"2020-02-24T15:01:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/?p=1132"},"modified":"2020-02-24T15:01:54","modified_gmt":"2020-02-24T15:01:54","slug":"beyond-tooth-pain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/beyond-tooth-pain\/","title":{"rendered":"BEYOND TOOTH PAIN"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Orofacial pain includes a number of clinical problems involving the\nchewing (masticatory) muscles or temporomandibular joint (TMJ). Problems can\ninclude TMJ discomfort, muscle spasms in the head, neck or jaw, migraines,\ncluster or frequent headaches, pain with the teeth, face or jaw, anxiety and\ndepression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The resting position of the jaw, which is the position it should be in\nmost of the time, is lips together with the teeth slightly separated. Breathing\nshould be through the nose. The teeth should be touching a total of about 15\nminutes in a 24-hour period of time. People who clench or grind touch their\nteeth much more than this. This is the primary reason people get orofacial\npain.  Pain can also be caused by things\nlike trauma to the head and neck or poor ergonomics (posture).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Temporomandibular disorders (TMD) affect more than 10 million Americans.\nYour TMJ\u2019s are located where the skull connects your lower jaw to the muscles\non the sides of your head and face. They control the joint\u2019s movements. Women\nbetween the ages of 20 and 40 are the most frequent sufferers of orofacial pain\ndue to added estrogen in their bodies. Estrogen impacts the body\u2019s natural pain\nfighters (endorphins), increases inflammation in the temporomandibular joints,\nand compromises the strength and adaptive ability of all ligaments. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One in eight Americans suffer from headaches. Experts estimate that 80\npercent of all headaches are caused by muscle tension, which can be related to\nthe bite. Clenching the jaw muscles creates tension in the muscles that close\nthe jaw, the main one of which is the temporalis muscle. Signs that may\nindicate a headache from dental origin include: pain behind the eyes, sore jaw\nmuscles or \u201ctired\u201d muscles upon awaking, teeth grinding, clicking or popping of\nthe jaw joints, head and\/or scalp is painful to the touch, earaches or ringing,\nneck and\/or shoulder pain, and dizziness. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sleep disorders can also play a role in orofacial pain. If you have gone\nthrough treatment for orofacial pain and still experience problems, it is\npossible that a sleep disordered breathing problem such as sleep apnea could be\ncontributing. People who have problems like this will often exhibit jaw pain\ndue to the body moving the jaw around at night to get better air flow. Patients\nhave no idea this is occurring usually until they wake with sore jaw muscles. Treating\nthe sleep issues usually solves the jaw issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the orofacial pain is not related to sleep, there are a variety of treatments\nthat can help relieve symptoms. One device is called an orthotic, or splint,\nthat is worn over the teeth to help stabilize the bite. Permanent correction\nmay sometimes require equilibration (reshaping teeth), orthodontics or a\ncombination of these and other restorative dentistry. Many use a splint (day\nand\/or night) on a daily basis to avoid having these other treatments done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other things that can help alleviate pain are using ice on the painful\narea, eating a softer diet and avoiding chewing gum or ice. It is important to\nbe conscious to keep teeth slightly apart except when chewing and swallowing. Use\nof anti-inflammatories is okay to use if it is an acute short-term problem. Chronic\nproblems are best treated by determining and treating the source.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Orofacial pain can range from tolerable to debilitating. Most of these\nproblems can be corrected and\/or managed. If your dentist can not help you, ask\nfor a referral to a specialist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. St. Clair maintains\na private dental practice in Rowley and Newburyport dedicated to health-centered\nfamily dentistry. If there are certain topics you would like to see written\nabout or questions you have please email them to him at jpstclair@stclairdmd.com<\/a>.\nYou can view all previously written columns at www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Orofacial pain includes a number of clinical problems involving the chewing (masticatory) muscles or temporomandibular joint (TMJ). Problems can include TMJ discomfort, muscle spasms in the head, neck or jaw, migraines, cluster or frequent headaches, pain with the teeth, face or jaw, anxiety and depression. The resting position of the jaw, which is the position it should be in most of the time, is lips together with the teeth slightly separated. Breathing should be through […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1132","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1132","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1132"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1132\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1137,"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1132\/revisions\/1137"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1132"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1132"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1132"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}