jaw pain

Is Wisdom Teeth Extraction Putting Patients at Risk of Temporomandibular Disorders

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An interesting article titled “The relationship between third molar extractions and TMD: Or is there one?” written by Dennis Marangos appears in Cranio: the Journal of Craniomandibular and Sleep Practice (Volume 41, Issue 4, 2023). The author was prompted to write the article based on patients coming in saying they did not have jaw pain before my wisdom teeth were extracted but, now have jaw pain and clicking. As a result the author did a literature review to examine the possible relationship. One of the most common surgeries in the 20th century is wisdom teeth surgery. Experts have suggested that our face and jaw structure has become smaller due to the introduction of processed foods over generations. This smaller jaw size means underdeveloped cranial structures and that wisdom teeth just do not fit. Temporomandibular disorder (TMD) is a term used … Read more

MRI shows neural differences with teeth grinding and jaw pain

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An interesting article titled “Neural Correlates of Tooth Clenching in Patients with Bruxism and Temporomandibular Disorder–Related Pain,” written by Theo J. M. Kluskens and et. al. appears in the Journal of Oral & Facial Pain and Headache (volume 37, Issue 2, Spring 2023, Pages 139–148). The authors sought to measure brain activity in patients with teeth grinding and jaw pain using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate whether differences when compared to those without had differennces in pain and/or neural activity. The researchers explored brain activity in 40 patients, 21 of those that bruxism and TMD pain and the remaining 19 patients were controls. The patients were asked to do a tooth-clenching task while they were having their brain scanned in a 3T MRI scanner. Patients had to mildly or strongly clench their teeth for 12 seconds and were … Read more