TMJ disorder, or temporomadibular joint disorder is a common diagnosis for many patients across the country.  This disorder can be a bite imbalance  involving the jaw joint as well as the associated muscles and teeth.  

In a recent article published in Wrightsville Beach Magazine, Dr. Michael Kuzma, D.D.S, of Kuzma Advanced Dentistry says, "The bite imbalances can be likened to having a pebble in your shoe. If you continue to walk with that imbalance, the muscles and joints of your knee, hip and back would soon be affected. This is also what is happening when you have imbalances in your bite; signs and symptoms will soon be present." 

In early 2010, a new patient, Cynthia M, 44 years old, came into my office. We ask all of our new patients about headaches and neck pain. Cynthia responded that she began having painful headache episodes over twenty years earlier. She said she'd experienced two to three tension headaches each week. She complained of intense pressure in the temple area and would normally take several Ibuprofen to relieve the pain.

After noting that she didn't check the box on her health history that asks if patients have headaches or neck pains, she responded that she chalked this pain up as being "normal" because she lived with it for so long. We talked about this issue more and Cynthia mentioned that she'd been visiting a chiropractor once a month for neck pain for nearly fifteen years.