Unfortunately, not every skull is perfect. Life has its ups and downs, and throughout the course of yours, you may have encountered an event that impacted your skull and altered its shape. Whatever the cause, skull shape can have consequences for your jaw joint, ultimately leading to TMJ. If your skull shape is causing you to experience the painful symptoms of TMJ, Sana Dental is here to help, with treatment options for TMJ.
Your Alberta Choice for TMJ Treatment!
How Does Skull Shape Affect the Jaw Joint?
Here are a few instances of how a life event can cause your skull to shift shape:
- Injury Or Trauma: A blow to the head can cause damage to the jaw joints along with the skull. Whiplash, or anything that impacts how you carry your head on the top of your neck, can cause jaw problems.
- Birth: Being born is no easy task. The journey a baby takes from the uterus through the narrow birth canal can result in a great amount of force placed on the baby’s skull. This is especially true when the delivery is in a head-first position. While nature does its best to mitigate the pressure with a soft and pliable skull, if the pressure was intense enough (every birth is different), it could result in a misalignment of your baby’s jaws bones.
- Growing: Since every part of the skull is interconnected – bones, muscles, ligaments and joints – any alteration during the growth and development of your baby’s skull can result in misalignment of the jaws, and an early onset of TMJ.
When a jaw misalignment occurs in a baby or small child, it often goes unnoticed until the child can communicate the symptoms they are experiencing.
Dental Treatment Can Help Resolve TMJ Pain!
No matter what your age, you may have TMJ. If you are experiencing symptoms that may be related to TMJ, the first step is to try and determine the root cause. To accomplish this, your dentist will need to conduct a thorough examination. After reviewing the results, your dentist should be able to devise a customized plan outlining your treatment options.
Your TMJ examination can include:
- Your full medical history
- A jaw alignment and range of motion test
- Your skeletal structure
- Your dental structure
- A neurological examination
- Other diagnostic tests, as recommended
