Dental occlusion is another name for the way your teeth meet when your jaws bite together.

The letters TMJ are short for of ‘temporo-mandibular joint’, which is the joint connecting your lower jaw and your skull. The movement in this joint lets you open and close your mouth and chew from side to side.

What kind of problems might I have?

If your teeth don’t fit together properly, you can have problems not only in your teeth themselves, but also the gums, the muscles that move your jaw. These problems are called ‘occlusal’ problems.

If your jaw is in the wrong position, the muscles that move the jaw have to work a lot harder and can get tired. This leads to muscle spasm. The main symptoms are continual headaches or migraine, especially first thing in the morning; pain behind your eyes; sinus pain and pains in your neck and shoulders.

How can I tell if I have a problem?

Most people who grind their teeth do it while they are asleep and may not know they are doing it. You may find that you clench or grind your teeth, although most people who do aren’t aware of it. Sometimes can be caused by anxiety, but generally most people clench their teeth when they are concentrating on a task, housework, gardening, car mechanics, typing and so on.

If you suffer from severe headaches, or neck and shoulder pain, you may not have linked this with possible jaw problems.