Which Is It--Your Teeth, Your Jaw, Or Your Muscles?

Had a patient come in, complaining of some intense pain in her lower left back tooth that not even medication could help.  My instincts screamed "ROOT CANAL" for the hurting tooth, but I let my doctor brain put the brakes on that line of thinking and I thoughtfully worked through the examination.  In the end, there was no treatment recommended. WHAT?!?!? A dentist doesn't want to carve up a patient?

That scenario is more common than you think. I have treated head and neck pain for years, and I have learned about how pain can be referred from non-tooth sources. Problems with blood vessels, facial nerves, skin, and muscles can elicit tooth pain, and vice versa. These relationships are called bi-directional trigger points. 

Take the example of the primary muscles of chewing.  Not only do we use them to chew, we also use them to clench our teeth in times of stress. Wherever and whatever the nature of the stress (bruxism, apnea to name a couple), our muscles can become inflamed, and pass pain onto the nerve pathways of the teeth. The pictures below will show how upper teeth and lower teeth can be affected.

Conversely, I have anecdotal cases of patients with jaw or muscular or facial pain that is not felt in the teeth, but comes from abscessing, decayed, or inflamed teeth.

I have successfully used bite guards, night guards, Botox in the muscles, and sleep breathing appliances to deal with these aches and pains. 

Sugar For Kids = Tooth Decay, Obesity, Apnea, Etc.

Yet another recent study connecting childhood obesity to sugar-containing beverages has been released.

I established how detrimental sugar is in a previous post.  But what stems from sugar beverages goes beyond tooth decay for me.  My experience with overweight kids is that they are significantly more likely to develop obstructive breathing disorder, or apnea. This breathing disease is likely to occur before adulthood in moderate to morbidly obese kids.  The Academy for Dental Sleep Medicine has really opened my eyes to the global significance of pediatric apnea.

When I see apneic patients, I almost always witness some element of tooth grinding or TMJ problem.  It's not consistently problematic in all apneic kids or adults, but there is usually one or more of the following issues we see: uncommonly sore jaw and head muscles, abnormal tooth wear, and sometimes TMJ joint pain. None of those things are common problems for children. ANd they are simply abnormal signs for people in general.

The literature has conflicted over the years about the connections between apnea and tooth grinding (also known as bruxism), but I know there is a relationship between obesity and tooth grinding.  And the sleep study summaries come back on these teeth grinders describing obstructive apnea.

But the main point of this post is this: Don't let your kids become obese.  There are a number of different diseases that will stem from a poorly governed diet and lifestyle for your kids.

If you have questions about managing childhood obesity, pediatric apnea, tooth decay, or nutritional choices for your children, please do not wait for a pediatric medical clinic visit. Call us for a consultation.