Jaw, Head and Neck Pain Caused By a Misaligned Bite

By Maribel Vann, DDS

Jaw, Head and Neck Pain Caused By a Misaligned Bite

A seventy three year old female patient came to me for a cluster of symptoms that had defied conventional medical, chiropractic and dental treatment for the past nine years. She described her symptoms as

A chronic pain in the lower left jaw that becomes very intense, which sometimes feels as though she has a cavity.

Pain in both eyes

Dizziness

Headaches

Shoulder pain

Low back pain

Tingling and numbness in the hands

Popping and clicking in the jaw joints (TMJ)

Clenching and grinding of her teethShe also fractured an implant on the lower right jaw and lost three teeth in the same area as well due to chronic grinding of her teeth.

These symptoms are typical of patients who suffer from a misaligned bite. The key clinical flag of an existing bite problem is when patients say their chiropractic or osteopathic adjustments do not hold, and they have to go for weekly or monthly adjustments.

Proper alignment of the upper and lower jaws, including the teeth, is a very important factor in providing the self-correcting mechanism of the skull bones (which includes the upper and lower jaws) and the spine.

Changes that occur through loss of teeth, or modification of the teeth by means of fillings, crowns, bridges, braces, occlusal equilibration (grinding of the teeth to remove bite interferences) and even dentures can throw the entire spine out of alignment. The domino effect that occurs has the potential for creating the many symptoms listed above. When the spine misaligns, the organs, muscles, fascia and lymphatic drainage all begin to malfunction.

These skeleton graphics show what happens to the alignment of the body when the bite is misaligned. When the skeletal structures of the body are not parallel or at right angles to the axis of gravity, the body becomes unbalanced and unhealthy.

The upper is deviated to the left, and the lower is deviated to the right.

Successful treatment depends on an accurate diagnosis. This patient is currently being treated with the Advanced Lightwire Functional (ALF) appliances.