There can be a direct link between head or neck pain and oral health. For many people experiencing all over neck and body pain, visiting with your dentist may provide clues to help you find the solution to those problems. Can teeth grinding cause neck pain?
During any thorough examination of your teeth, dentists might ask whether you’ve been experiencing any headaches or neck pain. They know better than most how your mouth and teeth can cause residual pain in your body.
The gateway to the rest of your body
It’s important to note that what happens in the mouth can contribute to symptoms elsewhere in the body. This is often overlooked with people treating the symptoms but not the cause. This is when an oral check up can provide the answers you’ve been looking for.
The problem might be as simple as grinding your teeth. In actual fact, up to 80 percent of people who experience pain at the back of their head and neck fit into this category. Headaches can also stem from this problem.
Bruxism and neck pain
There is a direct link between a person grinding their teeth and experiencing back and neck pain.
How does this work? Typically, when someone grinds their teeth, it causes a forward head posture. If they are chronically grinding their teeth, this constant forward head posture can quickly cause strain on the neck.
Not to mention, this forward head posture can cause the back to overcompensate and lead to further back problems as well. A lot of these issues can stem from the mouth so it’s a visit with the dentist that you need to be making and not just the doctor.
Any dentist will tell you, it’s common to see people who have been treating the symptoms of their body aches and pains but not fixing the cause of the problem. When a client better understands this link between their oral hygiene and overall health, they can understand the problem and get it sorted faster.
Snoring and oral health
Snoring is another common issue that can often be linked back to the mouth. Snoring does not only affect someone’s health but it can also impact your lifestyle.
If you’re snoring, someone can experience heart-related issues, hypoplasia, and the like.
And, for these snoring-related issues, dentists can work with sleep practitioners to better understand the situation and try different options to alleviate the problem. In terms of oral care, dentists can provide mandibular advancement plates, etc., that can help alleviate snoring and, as a direct result, better your health.
It’s important to understand how your oral health and those aches and pains you’re experiencing can be part of the same problem and solution.
NEXT: The causes of snoring and sleep apnoea
About Dr Shawn Rama
Dr Shawn Rama is the Principal Dentist and Founder of The Dental Room, with more than 20 years of experience in general and aesthetic dentistry. He graduated from the University of Melbourne in 2003 and has undertaken further training in aesthetic dentistry, complex restorative dentistry and dental implants. Dr Shawn is also an accredited Invisalign® Platinum Provider and a member of the Australian Dental Association. He founded The Dental Room in Balwyn North in 2016, creating a boutique practice centred around personalised, considered dental care.
