In the Aesthetic Department of ClĂnica Dental Den, before carrying out a rehabilitation, either with veneers or crowns, we proceed to make an exhaustive diagnosis of the entire masticatory system. This is when we encounter people who suffer from head and/or neck pain, as well as a feeling of jaw fatigue. Many times, these symptoms are related to bite problems, or they do not feel comfortable, as they clench and grind their teeth. They tend to present alterations in the relationship between their upper and lower teeth.
After studying the relationship between the teeth of the upper and lower arches during mastication, it has been shown that there is a close relationship between head, ear and neck pain, as well as with the fatigue of the mandibular muscles in patients who report episodes of clenching and grinding of teeth. This clenching situation is an altered function of the masticatory system known as bruxism.
This parafunction or bruxism manifests itself at the level of all the components of the masticatory system, being the teeth the organs in which it is most evident. As a consequence of this, the teeth can wear down and fracture, since the bone that supports the teeth suffers due to the overload it receives, which can lead to the loss of the tooth due to lack of bone support.
On the other hand, other structures that are affected by dental clenching are the joints that relate the jaw to the skull, the temporo-mandibular joints, which can suffer alterations that manifest themselves as noises, clicks, blockages and pain near the ear. This pain is often mistaken for a common earache, which is why the ENT specialist is consulted, despite the fact that the pain is not in the ear itself, but is related to the jaw joints.
Undoubtedly, it is the headache and neck pain where a close relationship between the alterations of the masticatory function and these pain pictures can be observed. Many patients who present this pain consult neurologists, who have verified that there is no damage in their nervous system that could be related to their headache. The pain is caused by the contracture and subsequent inflammation of the muscles that, being related to the craniofacial area, are responsible for a high percentage of this chronic headache. The diagnosis and treatment of this dysfunction must be previously treated before any rehabilitation in the mouth.