If you regularly awake with a sore jaw or tension headaches, there is a good chance you are grinding or clenching your teeth at night, also known as TMJ disorder. Side effects from sleep bruxism can include eroded enamel, cracked teeth, and gum recession. Plus, your temporomandibular joint just hurts and facial muscles become sore. Jaw misalignment is a common cause of TMJ disorder. Invisalign and traditional metal braces can both be used to properly reposition the lower jaw in relation to the upper jaw, eliminating TMJ problems while giving you a gorgeous, aligned smile.
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Night Guard or Invisalign?
Grinding your teeth at night is a troublesome chronic condition. Your dentist may want to fit you with a night guard to protect your teeth from themselves. When you consider the benefits of Invisalign, however, you could potentially protect your smile from sleep bruxism while aligning it at the same time.
Invisalign aligners must be worn 20 to 22 hours a day, so that means they will be in your mouth all night while you sleep. The aligners automatically create a cushion between the teeth so that they don’t scrape against each other and cause joint damage and pain.
Patients who have TMJ disorder benefit from having a better bite, and Invisalign makes that possible, while alleviating teeth grinding side effects in the process.
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The Many Benefits of Invisalign for Your Teeth and Bite
Invisalign aligners can minimize and even eliminate pain in the jaw, face, and neck. Not only does Invisalign adjust your bite, the aligners are an excellent way to reprogram the muscles that are involved in the grinding of your teeth – as long as you wear them correctly.
Conditioning your mouth and jaw muscles to work differently can relieve the symptoms of TMJ disorder. And you will have great success with Invisalign if you wear it as instructed, change the aligners according to your Red Bank dentist’s treatment plan, and remove the aligners for eating and cleaning only.
Align Your Smile for TMJ Pain Relief
Teeth that are perfectly aligned allow the temporomandibular joint to open and close freely without pain or deterioration. The stress on the jaw joint when teeth are crooked can create inflammation and soreness. The alignment removes the stress and strain from your jaw joint and eliminates irritation.
You know you don’t want to live with TMJ anymore, or the headaches and jaw pain that come along with it. And maybe you’re tired of having crooked teeth or a misaligned bite. Make an appointment with Invisalign provider Dr. Carole Sherrod Jewell at Red Bank Dentistry in Red Bank, NJ, to find out if Invisalign is right for you.
