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FUNCTIONAL OCCLUSION

Occlusion denotes the contact patterns between the upper and lower teeth,. The word functional occlusion (or “healthy bite”) refers to the healthiest relationship that can exist between the upper and lower teeth during their functioning.

Why is it so important that I have a healthy bite?

The most prominent role of your bite (occlusion) is during the first phase of digestion: chewing. When performed optimally, chewing (also called mastication) starts the natural progression of the digestive process. If you are chewing improperly, you’re interfering with your digestive system right from the start. Improper mastication means that you can’t effectively process the nutrients from the food you eat, and the end result is a dramatic effect on the health of your entire body.

What is considered a healthy bite?

The keys to a functional occlusion are these:

1) Optimum positioning of the teeth relative to one another which in turn provides…

2) Optimum positioning of the jaw joint within its “socket” while maintaining…

3) Efficient functioning of the muscles, ligaments and tendons that support the function of the entire masticatory (chewing) system.

A functional occlusion requires all three keys of the system to be in harmony with one another. If only one of the three keys are out of balance, your teeth win – and not in a good way. Your teeth are the strongest structural part of your body, and they will force your bite into an unhealthy position if your bite is not aligned properly. This is called a dysfunctional occlusion.

To keep the less than ideal tooth to tooth position, every ligament, muscle and tendon of your jaw will be constantly stressed. The end result is pain, fatigue, a depressed immune system and, ultimately, the breakdown of your jaw’s muscles, tendons, ligaments and all the other supporting structures.

What causes a dysfunctional occlusion?

There are many potential risk factors that have an effect on the development and maintenance of your bite:

1) Genetics. For whatever reason, certain less-than-ideal growth patterns of the jaw can be handed down from one generation to another.

2) Environmental stress. Dietary stress, especially, plays a major role during early growth and development. Poor/improper diet as a child can alter growth of the bones of the face and jaw. This is most prominent in individuals who develop difficulty breathing through his or her nose because of allergies, sinus infections, etc. Nasal obstruction can take an otherwise normally developing bite and throw it “off the track”.

3) Trauma. The growth centers of the jaw are especially vulnerable during growth and development and after growth is complete. If trauma occurs and a dysfunctional occlusion goes undiagnosed and untreated, the problem will steadily worsen and become chronic.

4) Wear on the teeth. Extensive destruction of the top surfaces of the teeth due to decay and/or trauma and the lack of proper dental correction (poorly shaped fillings, crowns, bridges, dentures, etc.) will affect your bite.

5) Bad habits. Thumb/finger sucking, use of a pacifier past one year of age, and/or grinding and clenching of the teeth at any age can drastically affect the development of a normal bite.

6) Bad dentistry. Unintended alteration of your bite by dental therapies can promote dysfunctional occlusion if left unrecognized and untreated. This can be the result of poorly designed fillings, crowns/bridges/ partials or dentures; extraction of teeth due to decay or accident without replacement; and orthodontic therapy that overlooks the development of a functional occlusion.

a. There are certain orthodontic therapies (for adults and children) that don’t consider the achievement of an optimal functional occlusion as treatment goal.

7) Tooth loss. The early loss of baby teeth or permanent teeth promotes a bad bite.

Be wary of any dental treatment that attempts to correct the above mentioned problems without first diagnosing the possible existence of a dysfunctional occlusion. New fillings, crowns, bridges, partial and full dentures that are placed without considering your bite run a risk of making the problems of a dysfunctional occlusion worse or, at the very least, no better.

What are the signs and symptoms of a dysfunctional occlusion?

- Worn down teeth

- Spontaneously sensitive teeth that comes and go and may change location

- A consistent history of sensitive teeth following any routine dental procedure, requiring return trips to the dentist in order for your “bite” to be adjusted

- A history of broken/ fractured teeth & multiple crowns to correct the problem

- An unexplainable need for root canals, especially on the large teeth in the back of your mouth

- Poorly functioning dentures

- Chronic headaches/neck aches

- Chronic neck, shoulder and/or back pain that requires constant attention by other health professionals, with relief never lasting more than hours or days.

- Difficulty keeping your balance

- Tired or sore jaws after routine dental appointments

- Poor gum health, receding gums, and root sensitivity even though you practice continued good oral hygiene

- Adrenal stress syndrome. Recent research shows that any dysfunction of the masticatory system raises the levels of cortisol (the stress hormone released by your adrenal glands) in the blood of test animals.

- A feeling of not knowing where to bring your teeth together properly

- Clicking, popping and /or grinding sounds coming from your jaw joint (TMJD /TMD/TMJ

- Jaw locking, facial soreness (TMJD)

- Ear and/or sinus pain without an organic cause (TMJD)

What will you do to correct my bite?

Every comprehensive dental examination in this office will evaluate your bite (occlusion). You will also fill out a health questionnaire with assistance from one of our staff. Once the exam is completed and your questionnaire responses are reviewed, your condition will be established. Depending on the findings of this evaluation, further tests and analysis of your bite may be performed. Examples of testing would be:

- Occlusal analysis. This is a comprehensive screening of your bite that evaluates very accurate impressions of your teeth in our laboratory. This follows an exact recording of your jaw position and a measurement of the discrepancy between your optimal (healthy) jaw position and where your teeth fit best. The magnitude of this discrepancy is measured and possible correction scenarios are discussed at a separate office visit. In most cases biological dental procedures will still be able to be performed with the use of a splint that will provide a stable jaw position for you while the removal of harmful materials is completed.

- Forensic orthodontic assessment. This assessment may be performed if you have had previous orthodontic treatment at another office. This test helps us to understand where you ended up after your orthodontics were completed and/or after your growth had stopped. This assessment will be in addition to an occlusal analysis and will require digital radiographs of your skull as well as computer analysis of jaw growth and relative tooth size proportions.

- Orthodontics. If our findings indicate a more severe dysfunctional occlusion, a preliminary orthodontic procedure using conventional orthodontics – braces or invisible braces (Invisalign) – may be necessary prior to the final comprehensive occlusal adjustment procedure.

- Comprehensive occlusal adjustment. Once the initial exams are completed, it may be necessary to perform a final comprehensive occlusal adjustment in order to coordinate your optimum bite more holistically – taking care to address you jaw and soft tissue health. Minor reshaping of your teeth may be performed to more easily create an optimum occlusal relationship that is in harmony with your jaw joints (TMJs), muscles, ligaments and tendons that support your jaw.

- TMJD assessment. In extreme cases of dysfunctional occlusion, TMJD may be present and would require diagnosis and therapy prior to any further dental work (please see TMD/TMJD/TMJ for more information).

Our commitment to your dental health.

Our goal is to treat each patient like a member of our family. As health care professionals, we took an oath to “do no harm”. If we notice that you have several of the above symptoms of a dysfunctional occlusion, we will ask ourselves these questions:

- Can we rule out any other masticatory system disorder?

- If we determine that you do have a dysfunctional occlusion, is there a risk of making your symptoms worse by providing you with dental care?

- It is foolish for us, as holistic dental practitioners, to provide a service such as replacing your dental restorations with biologically compatible dental material that may perpetuate or worsen an existent dysfunctional occlusion?

If we answer “yes” to these three questions, we will not perform dental services that would likely result in a decrease of your quality of life. If you have any questions about this or any other aspect of your functional occlusion evaluation, please let us know right away.

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doyle and baker, PSC

dentistry for the family

dr. chris baker

dr. kenny nusbacher

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