What kinds of problems can arise from having a misaligned jaw?
A patient’s jaws can be misaligned in any number of ways, including overbites, underbites, crossbites and open bites. When such a malocclusion (“bad bite”) is present, the patient can experience a number of problems. Misaligned jaws often contribute to temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders, which can be associated with significant discomfort for the patient. Any time the jaw doesn’t function properly – as is the case when the upper and lower jaws don’t meet correctly – the surrounding muscles will compensate and become stressed, which can cause pain. Other TMJ symptoms include clicking, popping or locking of the jaw as well as facial or ear pain. Misaligned jaws may also be less effective at chewing, so you may be missing out on important nutrition if you’re not processing your food completely even if you eat a healthy diet. There may also be some sort of relationship between malocclusion and bruxism, or…