Teeth can cause pain in neck

Press, 23 August 1984, Page 6

Teeth can cause pain in neck

PA Dunedin More dentists are learning how to cure pains in the neck, says an Australian professor of dentistry. More are learning how to cure face, head, and shoulder aches as well. They were learning that these aches sometimes involve the relationship between pain in the face and pain in the neck region, said Professor Peter L’Estrange in a paper to the Australian and New Zealand division of the International Association for Dental Research, meeting in Dunedin. The pain is related to the way the jaw and teeth fit. Professor L’Estrange, of the University of Queensland, said the mouth was part of the whole body and everything was connected. When teeth did not meet properly, facial muscles

tried to compensate and were put under stress. The stress carried through to connected muscles in the neck, shoulder and head, he said. “The muscles try to stabilise the jaw equally on both sides. When the muscles can’t cope, the symptoms of pain arise in related areas. It is as simple as that,” he said. The pain may be produced by other factors, but over-activity of the muscles connecting the jaw to the skull can aggravate the situation. Stress and body posture can make things worse. “Sometimes on public transport you see people grit their teeth, even when they don’t realise it The pressure can be much greater than ‘ we might think. You see muscles rip-

pling in the cheeks,” he said. Professor L’Estrange described four cases of chronic pain cured with dental treatment The six years and a half pain of one sufferer was cured in 48 hours. Another patient, who had been in pain for 10 years, was labelled' psychotic. After a week’s treatment, the symptoms disappeared. “Plastic splints are an effective way of establishing a harmonious relationship between the jaws and thereby relaxing muscles and relieving pain,” he said. “Of course there will be many occasions when the pain is not related to the teeth. “But sometimes it is, and this needs to be thoroughly investigated.”