Many people have TMD (Temporomandibular Joint Disorder) without realizing it, and if you suffer from chronic neck and/or shoulder pain, you could be one of them. It is not a well-known condition, nor is neuromuscular dentistry well-known. Dr. Quigless is a qualified neuromuscular dentist and can determine whether your neck pain is a symptom of TMD or not.
TMD is a misaligned bite. You may wonder why your bite would be causing neck or shoulder pain and not just jaw pain. In fact, TMD causes a great many symptoms which at first glance do not seem to have much relationship. How could headaches be related to chips in a tooth or tingling fingers?
Large Nerves With Many Branches
The common factor of the pain of TMD symptoms is the large, many-branched nerves that run from the brain to the face, head, jaw, neck, and shoulders. If your bite is misaligned, the jaw joints are part of the problem, as are misaligned teeth. Even the atlas (top bone in the spine) may be part of the problem and be out of alignment with the spinal bones.
The jaw muscles try to close your mouth correctly with the teeth meeting smoothly, but they cannot. The mechanics of your bite are incorrect and the muscles build up a lot of tension. The tension creates inflammation. The inflammation puts pressure on the nerves nearby and you feel pain.
Because these nerves have many branches, when one branch sends a pain message to the brain, another branch of the same nerve may also send one. Then you would feel pain in two places when the cause is only in one place. So you may feel neck or shoulder pain when the problem is in the jaw joint or a jaw muscle.
Dr. Quigless can diagnose your TMD using his extensive knowledge and specialized technology. If you would like to come for a free neuromuscular consultation with him, please contact us today. Our office serves St. Louis Missouri.
The Missouri Dental Board and the ADA do not recognize the treatment of TMJ(neuromuscular dentistry) or cosmetic dentistry as a specialty. Further, the ADA does not require any additional training of dentists who perform or advertise these procedures.
