Is Your Bite Related To Your Posture?
You may have heard your parents say "Turn the light on when you read or you'll ruin your eyes," or "Don't bite your nails or you'll ruin your teeth," but you probably have never heard them say "Sit up straight or you'll ruin your teeth!" What could your posture possibly have to do with your teeth? Everything in your body is connected, and if one element is out of-whack, so to speak, it can create a domino effect. Therefore, your posture and teeth are related.
How Your Bite Affects Your Posture
When you think of the skeletal system you may not consider your teeth part of it, but they are. Therefore, if your teeth are misaligned it can affect the rest of your body, particularly your posture. In order to compensate for dental malocclusion, your body will adjust the muscles in your jaw, then in your neck, which in turn will cause the muscles in your back to compensate by readjusting, and this can continue all the way down to your legs, and feet.
What To Look For
Your bite can also influence the position of your head. If your teeth are misaligned, the muscles in your jaw will try to bring the teeth together which can pull and stretch muscles causing strain. As a result, the neck muscles become out of alignment, but rather than walk around with a crooked head, our bodies adjust to keep our eyes and head straight. Eventually, due to a simple dental misalignment, your suffering from bad posture and all that comes with it. Unfortunately, the longer you have poor posture the more difficult it is to correct. Therefore, if you are noticing any of the following symptoms, bring them to the attention of your dentist, he or she may be able to help:
- Tingling or numbness in one hand
- Jaw, head, neck, shoulder, or back pain
- Ears that feel plugged and are difficult to clear
- One shoulder that is higher than the other
- Tender muscles near or around your breast bone
- Pant legs hemmed at different lengths
- The heels of your shoes wearing unevenly