Headaches/Sore Neck Due To Posture

Happy New Year Everyone! Let’s start the new year out talking about how your teeth/jaws can influence your posture. If your bite is in the wrong position – meaning over closed, off to one side, not level side to side, this will cause extra pressure on the muscles of the head and neck. Each time we eat, drink, talk, swallow or chew, we need our teeth to touch together. To do this, our muscles need to work to close our jaw. If they have to work extra to do this, the extra force or pressure needed starts to get spread over different areas. The fist area is obviously the head and neck, causing all of these muscles to have to work harder. As this occurs, our head will start coming forward to help the muscles. Forward head posture, as this is known, then starts to put pressure on the back to help hold the head forward of where it should be. As this continues, the back (spine) begins to change shape, changing our posture. This can cause slouching, shoulder slump, uneven hips, etc. leading to back and leg problems. By re-aligning the jaw with a retainer-type device, we can correct the bite, putting the bite back in a balanced position. Once the bite is corrected, there is no need for the head to be forward to help the muscles any longer, so the forward head position begins to correct itself. As the forward head posture corrects, the back/spine again begins to change back to a healthier position, alleviating the slouching, shoulder slump, issues with hips, etc. So in conclusion, if you have any issues with your posture and you’re not sure of the cause, give us a call for an evaluation to see if we can help. Call Bettina at 978-343-4031 to schedule you consult. Make today the day you start working on a better you! Sincerely, Brian C. McDowell, D.D.S., L.V.I.F. Dr. McDowell is located at 558 Electric Avenue in Fitchburg, MA. Dr. McDowell has attained his fellowship from The Las Vegas Institute for Advanced Dental Studies after completing the Core curriculum.