Mother Nature knows teeth
Because we are an office that concentrates our services on orthodontic and restorative care, we get to meet a great number of patients. And although these patients come to us primarily for esthetic evaluations, they frequently have varying degrees of pain in their jaw joints, pain that ranges from barely bothersome to extremely debilitating. Other patients complain of “popping and clicking”, or of clenching problems, or grinding in their sleep. And they are surprised to learn that these bite problems are very often related directly to their bite.
You see, Mother Nature programs each of us to bite where the greatest number of teeth hit whenever we close; clearly this is an advantage when chewing food. The problem comes if the teeth close in a position where the muscles have to leave their most relaxed position, and so when the teeth are together, the muscles have to strain to hold them there. Naturally, the muscles want to fight to get back to their normal position, and so they try to grind a path to reposition the jaw. The result is grinding, and clenching, and headaches, and jaw pain.
The interesting part is, that if you position the teeth properly, the jaw muscles are essentially always in their comfort zone, and the problems resolve. Not only that, but since “form follows function”, this is also the place where the teeth look best. It is a win-win situation.
On the other hand, if the dentist approaches the problem from a strictly “align the teeth” point of view, the function rarely is fully achieved, and if it is, it is usually as an unplanned happy consequence. More common is the situation of aggrevated muscles, and pain, that may occur anytime following treatment, from days to years.
