When it comes to well-being, your jaw health likely isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. However, experts say many day-to-day issues — everything from headaches to ear pain — can be a sign of jaw problems.
“First and foremost, jaw joints are the most-used joint in the body,” said Dr. Priya Mistry, a temporomandibular joint (TMJ) dentist in Washington state, who added that we even use our jaw when we sleep. “The simple act of swallowing makes our jaw move,” Mistry said.
Certain habits can cause wear and tear on your jaw, resulting in some of the issues mentioned above, in addition to common TMJ dysfunctions, which mess with your jaw joints and muscles.
Below, experts share the habits they avoid to keep their jaws healthy.
1. They don’t lean their hand against their jaw.
Many, many people mindlessly lean their hand against their jaw — you’ve probably done it while sitting at your desk at work or while listening to a friend talk over dinner.
This is a bad habit for jaw health because it puts too much sideways pressure on the jaw, which is built for up-and-down and forward-and-back movement, said Mistry. Leaning your hand on your jaw too often can lead to jaw clicking, pain or popping, she noted.
2. They don’t clench their teeth.
“Our teeth should really only come together when we swallow … when we’re speaking, our teeth shouldn’t touch, when we’re chewing, we have food between the teeth, and then we swallow [and] our teeth should separate,” said Dr. Karyn Kahn, a dentist who focuses on jaw disorders at Cleveland Clinic in Ohio.
“But some people find that they’re walking around every day with their teeth in contact, and that uses a lot of muscle and it puts excessive force on the teeth and also on the jaw,” Kahn added.
We live in stressful times ― constant email pings and social media notifications don’t help ― meaning many people to keep their jaws clenched all day long.
Jaw clenching can cause TMJ arthritic changes, in addition to inflammation. What’s more, clenching “requires a lot of muscle force, and so the muscles can develop … muscle pain … and this in turn can result in headaches, ear pain, any number of symptoms,” Kahn said.
The same goes for grinding your teeth, which many people do at night, Kahn added.
Signs that you’re grinding your teeth at night include headaches, tooth pain and tooth sensitivity. You can also talk to your dentist to see if they notice any tooth wear or chipped teeth, which can also be signs of grinding.
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Stress is a big reason many folks grind and clench their teeth, Dr. Michael Lerner, a Yale Medicine ear, nose and throat doctor, previously told HuffPost. If you suspect this may be why you’re doing the behavior, it could be a good idea to talk to a mental health professional about the stressors in your life or to consider implementing more self-care — like regular fitness, a nutritious diet and time spent doing things you enjoy — into your life.
Alcohol, caffeine and cigarette smoking can also provoke nighttime teeth grinding, so cutting back on those things can help curb the habit. What’s more, Kahn recommends a nighttime mouthguard to protect your teeth from grinding. Your dentist can help you get outfitted with one that fits your mouth.
3. They don’t discount posture’s impact on jaw health.
Mistry said it’s important that you’re conscious of your posture when sitting in front of a computer. Every inch your head is forward adds an additional 10 pounds of pressure on your neck, which then feeds up and puts pressure on your jaw, too, she said.
When sitting at your computer, your ears should be in line with your shoulders, which should be in line with your hips. In other words, all three body parts should be lined up, Mistry explained.
4. They don’t open items with their teeth.
Not only can opening bottles or packages with your teeth mess up your pearly whites, but this habit can also mess with your jaw health, according to Mistry.
When you open something with your teeth, you have to shift your jaw to get your teeth to move in a certain way — “it is a lateral movement that is bad for the jaw and not meant to happen,” Mistry noted.
5. They don’t chew gum excessively.
According to Kahn, gum chewing can also be detrimental to your jaw health. The habit causes excessive jaw movement and can risk overloading the joint or aggravating your jaw disc.
There is no one definition of excessive gum chewing, Kahn explained. For people with certain jaw disorders, chewing gum is never a good idea, while people with healthy jaws can usually handle it every so often.
Kahn recommends that you talk with your dentist to determine if it’s OK for you to chew gum based on your jaw and dental health.
6. They don’t chew pens or bite their nails.
Your jaw is not meant to be constantly moving (which is another strike against gum-chewing), making habits like mindlessly chewing pens or biting nails problematic, Mistry said.
The jaw is already the most-used joint in the body, so it shouldn’t be forced to move even more by chewing pens or biting your nails. Plus, biting your nails introduces dirt and bacteria into the body, Mistry noted.
7. They don’t skip regular dental check-ups.
Kahn said that it’s important that you get regular dental check-ups — “that will keep jaw health, in general, relatively safe.”
Beyond necessary teeth cleaning and mouth X-rays, these check-ups are also the time to talk to your dentist about any jaw-related concerns and report things like jaw clicking, popping or grating, Kahn added.
“I would stress regular dental checkups at least every six months,” Kahn said.
Not only will your teeth thank you for these regular appointments, but your jaw will, too.