Patient Services

Bite Harmony

The third way to lose your teeth (first two ways are decay and gum disease) is to have teeth that don’t fit together properly. Our facial muscles, our teeth, and our jaw joints were created to work in harmony and balance for proper chewing and swallowing. A bite that is “out of sync” puts a strain on the teeth, the temporomandibular joints (TMJ), and facial muscles. When this happens, some people begin to clench and grind their teeth causing a cycle of damage to teeth, jaw joints, and gums.

Why Bite Harmony Is So Important

When your bite is out of alignment, the poor fit can cause lower jaw movements that can totally destroy your natural teeth (as well as crowns and bridges) and can worsen the problem of teeth not fitting together properly. Teeth can break or wear down to the gum line. Unfortunately, tooth damage happens slowly over a long period of time and may not be noticeable until teeth have become:

• cracked
• broken
• sensitive
• worn
• loosened
• have developed spaces between them

Signs and Symptoms of Temporomandibular Disorder (TMD)

If you have any of the symptoms listed below, call us to schedule an examination so we can help.

• A pattern of frequent headaches that occur at the same time each day
• Sore, stiff muscles around your jaw when you wake up
• Clicking and popping noises in your jaw
• Difficulty chewing food
• Difficulty opening your mouth while eating or yawning
• Sensitive, broken, worn, loose or missing teeth
• Earache without any sign of infection

Treatments for Bite Problems

There are various treatment options and different individuals may require different treatments. We carefully examine patients and then discuss what treatment(s) we think are appropriate based on our findings. Treatment options include:

• A dental appliance (night guard)
• Posture training
• Ultrasound and jaw exercises
• Restorative work to correct more serious bite problems