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Maintaining a strong and healthy smile is about so much more than avoiding dental cavities. Your oral health is affected by all kinds of maxillofacial issues; one of these is TMJ health.
Your temporomandibular joints are the joints that connect your lower jaw to your skull. These joints enable you to speak, chew, yawn, and emote. When your TMJs are healthy, and functioning optimally, you probably don’t give them a second thought. However, as soon as they become damaged or dysfunctional, they can be tough to ignore.
Our Elmhurst TMJ dentists know that poor jaw health can cause a chain reaction of oral health problems. Keep reading to learn more…
One of the biggest oral health issues that arises from TMJ damage is premature dental deterioration. Patients who suffer from jaw problems often have to change how they bite and chew; these changes are often unconscious, so we may not even notice them until our dentist points them out. As a patient shifts his or her natural bite alignment, certain teeth are put under enormous amounts of pressure; this leads to premature dental enamel thinning, fracture, and chips.
Chronic TMJ can also make it difficult for sufferers to effectively clean their smiles. Limited jaw mobility and locking, for example, can prevent dental patients from brushing and flossing in those hard-to-reach back corners of their smiles. Ultimately, this causes TMJ sufferers to experience increased rates of dental infections including cavities and gum disease. Your dentist can recommend some cleaning strategies and tools that may help you clean your smile while experiencing TMJ problems.
Our Elmhurst TMJ dentists use simple oral devices to ease TMJ symptoms and help patients overcome jaw problems. If you think that you may be suffering from TMJ, please don’t wait to reach out for help and support. Call our office or use the Contact Us page on our website to get started!