Solving the Pain Puzzle
Headaches, Neck, Shoulder and Back Pain Linked to Improper Jaw Alignment

40 million Americans suffer from a chronic illness which most may have never heard of, but which quietly affects the lives of many. The term Myofascial Pain Dysfunction is used to describe a group of symptoms which involve pain in the muscles around the face. Most common of which are headaches, dizziness, locking jaw, numbness in fingers or arms, clicking jaw, neck, shoulder or back pain and others.

“We see that people who suffer these symptoms have an imbalance in their jaw-to-skull Relationship. This is caused by a bad bite (malocclusion) which has two consequences. First, it alters the position of your temporomandibular joints (TMJ) and places excessive pressure on the nerve-filled area surrounding them. Second, it twists, or torques, your jaw into a strained position. This can affect the muscles in your face, head, neck, back and shoulders. Muscles under constant strain are painful!” Says Scott A. Johnson DDS of Post Falls, Idaho. “To correct this, the jaw must be brought back into a muscularly balanced position”.

Your head sits delicately balanced on top of your neck because of a complex coordination of muscles. “Imagine it as a baseball balanced on top of a pencil and held in place by a number of rubber bands,” says Mary Lynn Pulley, M.Ed. therapist in TMJ disorders, “Now imagine shortening just one of those rubber bands; some would stretch, some would shorten, and the baseball would be thrown off kilter. Similarly, when even a single jaw, neck or shoulder muscle becomes shortened due to an uneven or worn bite, all of the other muscles are forced to overwork to keep the head balanced on top of the spinal column.”

Muscles which are under constant strain can develop “trigger points” which can be the source of referred pain in the form of head, neck and back aches, sinus problems, dizziness, teeth grinding and clenching. “When we see these symptoms, we want to find the patients most relaxed jaw position.” Says Dr. Johnson, “We do this by using electrical stimulation with rhythmic pulsing. This relaxes the muscles and we are able measure where the jaw is most comfortable. Then we develop an appliance that the patient wears and determine if the symptoms subside. If so, then we can move ahead with restoring the patient’s teeth to their new bite, and new smile!”

In addition to creating a healthy and pain-free bite, when a patient’s treatment plan includes neuromuscular reconstruction using veneers or crowns, invariably the results are a dramatically improved smile. “A pain free bite coupled with a beautiful smile is utterly life-changing for the patient,” says Johnson.

Dr. Johnson is a cosmetic and neuromuscular dentist who works with sufferers of Myofascial Pain Dysfunction. He has received extensive training at the world renowned Las Vegas Institute for advanced Dental Studies.