Correcting Your Misaligned Jaw

The misalignment of jaw is mainly due to abnormalities in the temporomandibular join.

Reasons for misalignment of jaw

• Mismatch of teeth on upper and lower jaw
• Muscle spasm
• Disorder of synovial joints
• Injuries during accidents
• Bruxism of teeth

What are the problems with jaw misalignment?

• Pain around the jaw
• Difficulty in eating or chewing
• Difficulty to open mouth completely
• Headache
• Clicking sound during movement of jaw
• Hearing problems

How jaw disfunction is diagnosed?
Diagnosis can be done by the symptoms of the patient and by examining the movement of jaw and biting. Some tests are available to diagnose misalignment of jaw. These tests include:

• Blood tests - It gives the inflammatory signs on the jaw
• MRI scanning - To examine the joint
• Arthroscopy - It uses a fiber optic device to examine the joint
• Nerve blockage - By giving anesthesia near the jaw. If the pain is relieved then you can say that the disfunction of jaw takes place.

What is the treatment?
The treatment for misaligned jaw depends on the severity of abnormality. If the misalignment is due to stretching during yawning, it can be relieved by taking soft foods, by avoiding chewing gums and taking over the counter medicines. If it is due to bruxism, you can go for following techniques.

• Wearing mouth guards - It helps to prevent the upper and lower jaw come closer. This is suitable if the jaw is disfunctioning due to bruxism. Splints are also used. Splints are similar to mouth guards.

• Occlusal equilibrium  - It is a fitted device to the jaw which helps to close the jaw completely.

• Braces �It is used to straighten the teeth and fitted to both the jaws closely.

If the misalignment of jaw cannot be corrected by the above treatments. It can be treated by surgery. The surgery starts by giving anesthesia, and incision is made on the jaw to expose the jaw bone. Then manipulations are made and positioned to appropriate place and sutures are made. These sutures can be dissolved or can be removed in later days.

Complications after surgery:

• Swelling of face for one week
• Uncontrolled movement of lower lip
• Injury of nerves