Jaw misalignment is a common condition and it can occur for several reasons including stress, jaw clenching, former whiplash and neck injuries, teeth grinding at night, and next subluxations. All these can often lead to jaw misalignment or also known as TMJ pain. It can cause headaches, popping or clicking, dental issues, neck pain, and lockjaw.
Several individuals take for granted their jaw joints until they notice that there is something wrong with how it works. Issues with jaw alignment can cause severe and painful side effects like tinnitus, ear, and facial pain. These symptoms are also linked to a certain condition called temporomandibular dysfunction or TMD. It’s a good thing that there are non-surgical treatments for this kind of pain. Debole Chiropractic of Victor, New York has a skilled jaw misalignment chiropractor that can provide you a correct treatment plan and relieve your pain.
Top 5 Signs You Have a Jaw Misalignment Disorder
This condition mainly occurs in the temporomandibular joint that connects the jaw to the skill. If this joint becomes injured or damaged, it can bring painful symptoms. It’s essential to know and be aware of the signs and symptoms so you will have a suited treatment to manage the pain. To help you seek proper care, below is the list of the top signs that you might have jaw misalignment. If you notice having these symptoms, it is recommended to schedule an appointment with your jaw misalignment chiropractor.
1. Frequent Headaches or Migraines
Sleeping and waking up with a headache or migraine is a serious thing and it’s not normal anymore. It is a sign that there is something negative happening with your joint. There are 40 percent of patients being diagnosed with this disorder and suffer frequent headaches and migraines. If you feel that you are experiencing these symptoms for several weeks already, it’s a better idea to see your chiropractor evaluate your situation.
2. Clicking and Popping Sounds
Do you hear a clicking or popping sound in your jaw every time you open or close your mouth? If you do, it’s another symptom that you have a TMJ disorder. The clicking and popping noise is the sound of the disc existing in the joint that is shifting out of its place.
3. Cracked, Worn, and Broken Teeth
If the muscles, teeth, and jaw joints do not work properly, there is an imbalance in the bite. When your bottom and top teeth come together, there will be excess pressure on some teeth because of misalignment. It causes cracked, worn, and broken teeth in general. Additionally, patients with jaw misalignment disorder try to grind or clench their teeth and cause broken teeth as well. If you have a regular checkup with your dentist, they will tell you if they noticed the symptoms of crack from grinding and clenching.
4. Clogged Ears, Ear Pain, or Tinnitus
Since the jaw joints are adjacently located to the ears, it’s usual to feel several symptoms near the ear area. People who experience clogged ears or ear pain though that it’s only allergies or an ear infection but actually a form of jaw misalignment. It can cause tinnitus as well, a condition when you feel the ringing in your ears because of the irritation that happened in the nerve. If you notice that your ears are in pain most of the time, ringing, or stuffing, it’s best to ask for help from a professional.
5. Jaw, Neck, Shoulder, and Head Pain
These are the common symptoms of jaw misalignment disorder where the pain is felt in several parts of the body. Several patients experienced pain most of the time in their jaw and head, specifically near the temple area. Patients will feel pressure, eye pain, and sinus. The pain radiates to all other areas of the body because the joints found near the nerves are connected. Even the muscles in your face are linked to the muscles in the shoulders and neck. If the jaw joint is not working properly, pain and discomfort can have a negative effect throughout a person’s body.
What are the Causes of Jaw Misalignment?
This condition can happen mostly in people and women between the ages of 25 to 45. It may be caused by anxiety, stress, dental misalignment, and injuries like a blow on the face or head trauma. When some factors affect the jaw alignment, pressure is put on the jaw when a person bites, yawns, or speaks. Over time, the pressure will add up to the stress you place on the jaw and the pain it causes.
Should You Realign Your Own Jaw?
The answer is no. No matter how irritating and painful your jaw, you must not try to pop it back into the right place. Chiropractors never recommend the patient to shift or pop a misaligned jaw or joint back in its proper place themselves. It might cause painful and serious injuries or make the damage even worse.
The joint in your jaw is one of the most sensitive joints in the body so it’s important to be careful in aligning it. If you can’t bear the pain, what you can do is put ice directly on the painful jaw to acquire the relief you want. Visiting a chiropractor is a must as well to seek help in realigning your jaw. It’s a good thing that Dr. DeBole provides jaw misalignment treatment for those who need urgent relief for the discomfort they experienced from jaw pain.
What to Expect from the Jaw Misalignment Chiropractic Technique?
If you are experiencing jaw issues, an excellent way to treat the pain is to see a chiropractor. After a keen evaluation, the chiropractic doctor will assess which type of manipulation and adjustment is suited to treat your condition.
Jaw adjustments need to be gentle. You won’t feel or hear the same kind of cracking or popping you experience with other chiropractic care treatments. Depending on the kind of misalignment you are trying to deal with, the chiropractic doctor may offer other kinds of chiropractic adjustments. Below are some of these chiropractic techniques.
- Deep and manual tissue massage of the muscles near the jaw.
- Activator adjustment to the jaw using spring-loaded and handheld instruments.
- Manual manipulation on the neck.
- Jaw exercise routines to strengthen the misaligned jaw or joint.
You will see that these chiropractic adjustments are fast but effective and comfortable. In general, it can help you eliminate those jaw-related issues and symptoms. To determine the best course of a treatment plan to correct your jaw misalignment issue, schedule an appointment with your chiropractor today.
