Dr. Harris Local Links Home Location Email Ask the Dentist- FAQs TMJ TMJ dysfunction and head and neck pain. When drugs don't work for you. Many people suffer from dizziness, earaches, face, head, neck shoulder, and back pain. They may also suffer chronic fatigue, irritability, blocked or ringing ears, difficulty in swallowing, temporary loss of memory and arthritis-like joint pains or numbness in parts of the body that seem to have no relation to the teeth. The case is frequently unrecognized by physicians whose standard training has not equipped them to understand the relationship between the teeth and jawbone and the alignment of the jaws and rest of the body.
Many dentists are also unaware of how closely their work is linked to a patient's general health.
Consequently, thousands of chronic sufferers go from one medical specialist to another, taking potent drugs which fail to bring relief, even having needless surgery when the pain becomes unbearable or being referred to psychiatrists who cannot help them because these experts are concentrating on the symptoms without recognizing the cause. Your jaw joint which holds your lower jaw in place is suspended beneath your skull by an intricate system of muscles and tendons. The jaw joint, surrounding muscles, and the fit of your teeth are closely interrelated, each affecting the other as you make every day jaw movements such speaking and chewing. The way your teeth fit together is called occlusion. When your teeth are not in proper relation to each other and to your jaw joints, the jaw automatically shifts to a new position in an attempt to compensate for the misalignment of your teeth known as malocclusion.