How A Misaligned Jaw Can Cause TMJ Pain

Jaw misalignment is when your upper and lower teeth don’t line up properly when you open and close your mouth. The most common conditions are an overbite, when your upper teeth close in front of your lower teeth, and an underbite, which is just the opposite.

Having your jaw misaligned can cause pain in your temporomandibular joint (TMJ), which is the joint that connects your lower jaw to your skull. TMJ pain is tough to deal with because it not only manifests in your jaw, but also in your ears, face, neck, and shoulders.

Let’s explain how a misaligned jaw causes TMJ pain, and how you can relieve your pain in the short-term and long-term.

How a Misaligned Jaw Can Cause TMJ Pain

You have temporomandibular joints on both sides of your head, just in front of your ears. The TMJ connects your lower jaw with your skull and is responsible for opening and closing your mouth.

The trigeminal nerve runs through your TMJ. This nerve gives you sensation in your face and stimulates jaw movement. It’s the largest nerve in your facial area and receives a high amount of daily use whenever you talk, chew, or move your mouth.

A misaligned jaw creates stress on the TMJ and trigeminal nerve, which causes pain that can range from mild to debilitating. You might feel soreness or sharp pain in the area, but you can also suffer from headaches, dizziness, nausea, or teeth grinding.

Many people suffering from this type of pain may choose to avoid seeing a specialist for the following reasons:

• They don’t think the pain is severe enough to warrant a doctor’s visit
• They don’t want to spend money to diagnose the problem
• They’re anxious about getting a diagnosis

However, TMJ pain can worsen over time or develop into a chronic ailment if left untreated, which is why it is so important to see a specialist as soon as possible when you start experiencing symptoms.

What are Symptoms of Identifiable Jaw Misalignment?

The following symptoms may indicate you have a misaligned jaw:

• Clicking when you open and close your jaw
• Pain or tightness in jaw
• Difficulty speaking or chewing
• Weakened teeth (loose teeth, gum recession, tooth loss)
• Ringing, popping, or buzzing sound in ears (tinnitus)
• Headaches (usually accompanied by neck and shoulder pain)
• Pain in your temples
• Excessive drooling

What Can Cause a Misaligned Jaw?

If you want to fix your misaligned jaw then it’s helpful to know what might have caused it in the first place. Here are some of the most common factors that cause jaw misalignment:

• Temporomandibular Joint Disorder (TMD): TMD is when your TMJ has chronic inflammation or pain. This disorder can ultimately cause your jaw to become misaligned, if left untreated.
• Myofascial Pain Syndrome: Myofascial pain is a chronic pain that’s felt in the area surrounding your jaw. Usually, the pain is accompanied by a clicking or popping sound when you move your jaw. Myofascial pain is caused by face arthritis, injury, or poor posture and if left untreated it may cause your jaw to become misaligned.
• Malocclusion: Malocclusion is a misalignment of your teeth that’s caused by genetic inheritance, poorly fitting braces, excessive thumb-sucking in childhood, or other growth-related factors. Malocclusion can lead to a misaligned jaw.
• Birth Defects: People can be born with an overbite or underbite. Retainers, braces, and other orthodontic treatments can fix the problem, but in some cases, surgery may also be required.
• Bruxism: Bruxism is a condition in which you excessively clench and grind your teeth. The teeth grinding may occur at any time including when you are asleep. Bruxism can lead to TMJ disorders that ultimately result in jaw misalignment.
• Trauma: Your jaw can be dislocated or misaligned by an injury. Corrective surgery may be required, following by stabilization measures that will keep your jaw properly aligned as it heals.

Can Your Jaw Misalign as You Get Older?

The structures and soft tissues in and around your jaw weaken and break down as you get older. The ligaments and muscles that hold your jaw in place may loosen and allow your jaw to become misaligned over time. While this may not result in immediate pain, the disfunction could eventually have a negative impact on quality of life if left unaddressed.

What Are Some Treatments for a Misaligned Jaw?

Your face has many interconnected structures, so numerous parts of your upper body may be impacted by or causing your misaligned jaw. Thus, treating a misaligned jaw requires a comprehensive approach that addresses your entire facial area.

A qualified TMJ specialist should be able to provide a proper analysis of your facial structure and movements to diagnose the underlying problem and provide an effective treatment strategy. Their approach will focus on healing the temporomandibular joint to correct imbalances in your bite and jaw muscles.

Otherwise, a misaligned jaw can be treated in the following ways:

• Braces: Braces are a common way to correct jaw and teeth misalignment. Traditional metal braces use a combination of brackets and wires to pull your teeth and jaw into proper alignment.
• Transparent Aligners: Aligners perform the same function as metal braces, but they’re made of transparent plastic and can be removed from your mouth just like a retainer.
• Orthotic Appliances: Sometimes a prescribed orthotic appliance can be worn to adjust jaw misalignment over time. This is a non-invasive treatment method that requires part time wearing of a mouthguard that is designed to shift the jaw into alignment.
• Misaligned Jaw Surgery: Surgery may be required to correct the position of your jaw. The necessary procedure may vary depending on your condition.

Here are the most common surgical procedures for misaligned jaws:

• Jaw wiring: A broken or fractured jaw is stabilized and repositioned.
• Maxillary osteotomy: This procedure realigns your upper teeth and jaw and is effective for treating crossbite.
• Mandibular osteotomy: This procedure realigns your lower teeth and jaw and is effective for treating overbite.
• Genioplasty: This procedure fixes a crooked jaw and chin that’s causing misalignment of the jaw.

Will A Misaligned Jaw Fix Itself?

In some cases, mild jaw misalignment will fix itself over time. However, always consult a TMJ or orofacial specialist to determine the best course of action. They can identify the root problem and prescribe you appropriate treatment or refer you to the correct specialist if extensive surgery or therapy is required. Sometimes, in the most extreme cases, surgery is the most effective way to treat intense jaw misalignment.

What Are Some Easy Ways to Relieve Pain Caused by A Misaligned Jaw?

Here are a few ways you can relieve pain caused by jaw misalignment or TMD.

• Icing / Heating: Apply an ice pack or heating pad to the painful area. Hold for a few minutes at regular intervals.
• Over-the-Counter Medications: Anti-inflammatories like Motrin and Advil can relieve minor pain and discomfort.
• Muscle Relaxers: Your doctor may prescribe muscle relaxers (which include anti-anxiety and anti-depression medications) to ease tension on your affected muscles and joints.
• Changing Your Diet: Avoid eating hard and crunchy foods, like candy, nuts, and chewing gum. Opt for soft food, like yogurt, soups, and boiled vegetables.

How to Prevent Jaw Misalignment

Research suggests that misaligned teeth (malocclusion) may be caused by oral habits in a person’s childhood. Excessive sucking, tongue thrusting, and mouth breathing in one’s childhood may lead to a misaligned jaw, and symptoms may not be noticeable until adolescence or adulthood.

If you’re caring for a young child, you can prevent the development of a misaligned jaw by eliminating pacifier use past infancy and by helping your child move past their thumb sucking phase.

Benefits of Fixing a Misaligned Jaw

Fixing a misaligned jaw will yield several health benefits, apart from relieving jaw pain. Here are a few reasons why you should consider correcting a misaligned jaw, even if you’re not feeling significant discomfort.

Better Sleep

Your sleep can be disrupted when your jaw isn’t able to properly close while you’re sleeping. A misaligned jaw may contribute to sleep apnea, in which you’re unable to breathe well while you’re asleep, and you wake up feeling tired and groggy. Sleep apnea has been linked to dementia and may also be a serious concern to anyone who’s already experiencing breathing or respiratory issues.

Treating a misaligned jaw can improve your quality of sleep, boost your energy in the daytime, and prevent you from developing sleep apnea or other serious conditions.

Eliminate Teeth Grinding

Bruxism (grinding your teeth at night) is a common link between a misaligned jaw and TMJ pain. Poor jaw alignment may cause involuntary muscle contractions while you sleep which causes your teeth to grind against each other and places stress on your TMJ. This can lead to the development of TMD and causes worn, chipped teeth. Enamel damage can’t be reversed, so if left untreated you may need to have a dental crown or tooth extraction to deal with severely damaged teeth.

You can wear a mouthguard at night to prevent teeth grinding, but this won’t fix the misaligned jaw. You’ll most likely need orthodontic treatment or other corrective therapies to realign your jaw.

Reduce Risk of Tooth Decay and Gum Disease

Jaw misalignment can make your teeth overcrowded, making them more difficult to clean and floss. It can also cause excessive wear and tear on your teeth. All these problems may contribute to tooth decay and gum disease.

Fixing your misaligned jaw can prevent these problems from developing and make it easier for you to practice good oral hygiene.

Improve Chewing

Jaw misalignment can make it difficult to bite and chew, requiring you to chew for longer or with more exertion. This causes excessive wear and tear on your teeth or puts you at risk of swallowing poorly chewed food, which reduces nutritional intake and puts you at greater risk of choking.

Improve Facial Symmetry

Your facial symmetry can be impacted by an overbite or underbite, which causes your lower jaw to protrude either forward or backward. This is mostly a cosmetic concern for many patients, but it still results from harmful chewing problems and stress on your TMJ.

Improve Speech

An overbite or underbite can also impact the quality of your speech and enunciation. “R” and “Z” are more difficult to pronounce when you have a misaligned jaw. In some cases, jaw misalignment can cause a speech impediment (a lisp). Fixing your jaw misalignment can improve the balance between your jaw, teeth, and tongue which will improve the quality of your speech.

Prevent Surgery

A misaligned jaw can often be fixed through orthodontic treatment if treated early enough. However, if you leave a misaligned jaw untreated for years, it can cause significant damage to your TMJ and/or your teeth, causing long-term TMJ jaw pain. Once your TMJ and teeth have been severely damaged, you’ll most likely require surgery to fix the problem, which is usually more invasive than orthodontic treatment.

In most cases, you can avoid surgical tmj treatment by having your misaligned jaw corrected as soon as possible.

Contact Dr. Omrani if You Are Dealing with Jaw Misalignment-Related TMJ Pain

Book an appointment at our Los Angeles clinic if jaw misalignment is causing you TMJ pain. Dr. Omrani will locate where your jaw is misaligned and can design a custom orthodontic appliance to realign your bite and stop any pain that the misalignment is causing you. We can quickly alleviate your pain and discomfort while also ensuring that your jaw and facial structures suffer no further damage in the long-term. Call (310) 422-4246 to schedule an appointment today!

Misaligned Jaw FAQs

How do you fix a misaligned jaw?

Misaligned jaws can be fixed by orthodontic treatments, including:

• Braces
• Orthotic appliances
• Aligners
• Dental bridges
• Removal of wisdom teeth
• Jaw realignment surgery

How can you realign your jaw?

The most common method to realign the jaw is through orthodontic appliances, such as braces or aligners. Surgery may be required if your jaw has become misaligned due to a fracture or trauma.

How do I know if my jaw is misaligned?

Misaligned jaw symptoms include:

• Clicking when you open and close your jaw
• Ringing in your ears
• Pain or tightness in your jaw
• Headaches
• Weakened or sensitive teeth
• Excessive drooling

How can I fix my misaligned jaw naturally?

You can alleviate your misaligned jaw symptoms with over-the-counter pain medication, but jaw misalignment can rarely be fixed without orthodontic treatment or surgery. It’s best to consult with a TMJ or orofacial pain specialist to determine your best treatment options.