Do you avoid hard foods because your jaw gets sore after eating them? Or do you find yourself being distracted by a relentless throb or ache in jaw joints through out the day?

This phenomenon combined with headaches and seemingly unexplainable cuts on the side of your tongue can all point towards having a misaligned bite in St. John's. 

Other key symptoms include:

• Grinding your teeth
• Trouble speaking
• Clenching your jaw
• Struggling to bite or chew
• Difficulty brushing and flossing your teeth

When your teeth don't fit well on top of each other, even if it's just the most subtle imbalance, it can cause a series of dental health issues that impact your every day life and ability to properly care for your oral health.

Without hurting yourself or exerting too much pressure on your jaw and teeth, bite down as naturally as you can. Place your teeth together and go through the following check-list:

• Do your teeth feel like they fit on top of each other?
• Do some of your top teeth have no contact with your bottom teeth?
• Are your bottom front teeth pushing against your front top teeth?
• Does this feel painful in any capacity?
• Do you experience sensitivity when you bite down?

A key purpose of this self-test is to eliminate other dental health complications, such as cavities and cracked teeth. However, please note that it doesn't fully rule out these conditions.

If you answered yes to one or all of these, we highly recommended seeing a misaligned bite specialist in St. Johns, if you're located in Newfoundland.

At LOL Dental, our team is here to help get to the bottom of your pain and intervene before your misaligned bite triggers more serious issues such as:

• Temporomandibular joint disorder (TMJ)
• Breaking or damaging teeth
• Extreme tooth sensitivity
• Chronic migraines
• Gum disease

Put yourself and your health first by taking action today. We'll be here to support you every step of the way!

Malocclusion

Malocclusion (a "bad" bite) is when your top and bottom teeth don’t meet up properly.

We often see patients who don’t have enough room in their mouth for all their teeth. This leads to crowding or overlapping. Another common condition is protruding upper front teeth. Patients with occlusal problems are referred to an orthodontist.

What problems are associated with malocclusion?

• Trouble chewing certain foods
• Premature wearing of teeth
• Tense facial muscles
• Trouble getting teeth clean (which increases the risk of cavities)
• Trouble pronouncing certain sounds
• Sleep apnea

How is malocclusion treated in St. John's?

Orthodontics is a specialized field of dentistry that focuses on correcting tooth alignment problems. Orthodontic appliances apply force to gradually shift teeth to the right position.

Some habits, like thumb sucking or tongue thrust, can cause malocclusion of the teeth. These habits must be broken in order for an orthodontic correction to last.

We offer treatment for a misaligned "bad" bite at all our locations:

• Bad bite treatment St. Johns
• Bad bad treatment Labrador City
• Bad bite treatment Goose Bay