Your smile is just one component of your larger maxillofacial structure. When one part of this system is not working well, the component parts can suffer as a result.
Today our O’Fallon dentists are talking about the ways in which your jaw joints can affect your bite and vice versa. As you’ll see, maintaining a healthy smile is about a lot more than simply brushing and flossing regularly.
The way that your top and bottom teeth come together makes a big difference as to how your smile ages over time. If your bite is not even and comfortable, you’ll likely alter the position of your lower jaw when you bite and chew. You might not even realize that you’re doing this, but it can cause your dental enamel to wear down unevenly over time.
A poorly aligned bite is also often associated with bruxism, or chronic dental grinding. This condition is caused bruxism. In some cases, a poorly aligned bite causes bruxism, and in other situations, chronic grinding causes the patient’s bite to shift.
Bruxism puts an enormous amount of pressure on the patient’s temporomandibular joints as well as the patient’s dental enamel. You’ll likely develop dental cracks and chips if bruxism goes untreated, and your enamel may thin and become more susceptible to infection.
Some patients benefit from wearing a protective mouth guard at night to help take the pressure off of their jaw joint, and to protect their dental enamel. Our dental team may also recommend that you use bonding or restorations to improve the way that your top and bottom teeth come together. The key is to match the treatment solution to the specific underlying cause of your bite dysfunction.
The best way to get started is to contact our O’Fallon dentists to schedule a personal consultation. We are here to give you all of the information and support that you need to smile confidently!