Craniomandibular dysfunction (CMD) is a functional disorder of the chewing system, i.e. the jaw joints, the chewing muscles or when the teeth are clenched.
Dysfunction is present in many people, but does not always lead to symptoms. The reason for this: The coordinated system of the chewing apparatus can adapt to pathological changes to a certain extent via the muscles or the joints. Pain only occurs when the adjustment limits are exceeded.
Typical complaints are:
Pain and impairment in the jaw area
Unexplained toothache
facial pain / headache.
However, problems can also occur in parts of the body that are superficially unrelated to the masticatory system:
Examples:
Tension of the neck and shoulders,
back pain
ringing in the ears (tinnitus)
This is because joints in the jaw, head and pelvis are connected by nerves. If one joint is stressed incorrectly, other joints can hurt.
Effects in “both directions” are possible: The jaw joint can cause problems in the lumbar-pelvic area (“decreasing load”). Conversely, a misalignment of the spine can lead to craniomandibular dysfunction (“ascending strain”).
Treatment may require multidisciplinary therapy, with dentists, for example, correcting the mouth situation of the affected person, while any postural problems are assessed and treated by chiropractors, if necessary.
In many cases, a craniomandibular dysfunction can be completely eliminated through careful recording of the patient’s medical history and the right therapy.
As a precaution, you should pay attention to the above-mentioned symptoms of your body, take them seriously and have them examined. Other possibilities for prevention are dentures made on the basis of a functional analysis, correction of old crowns and misaligned teeth in case of teeth grinding, or if stress is the trigger of grinding, you should get to the bottom of the causes and learn to process it differently (relaxation techniques, etc.) or not let it arise.
