According to the Mayo Clinic, the definition of Dizziness is “a term used to describe a range of sensations, such as feeling faint, woozy, weak or unsteady. Dizziness that creates the false sense that you or your surroundings are spinning or moving is called vertigo.” Dizziness can be triggered by certain movements like walking, standing up, or moving your head, but can TMJ cause dizziness? We take a look at the dangerous habit of teeth grinding and if there’s a correlation between the two.
TMJ stands for temporomandibular joint disorder. This disorder is commonly referred to as “TMJ” and is a condition that causes a person to grind or clench their teeth during sleep, or in some cases during the day. TMJ is triggered by stress and anxiety. As your body decompresses while you sleep, your mind unpacks your emotions and experiences throughout the day. If you’ve had negative experiences or emotions, your body may react by subconsciously grinding or clenching your teeth while you sleep.
Symptoms of TMJ include morning headaches, clicking and popping noises from the jaw joints, sensitivity to hot or cold foods, or sore jaw muscles, but can TMJ cause dizziness? There seems to be a connection. When the muscles in your jaw become overworked, they become inflamed. The muscles surrounding your jaw joints are also close to your ears. Your ears have sensors in them that are responsible for sending important information to your brain. Information such as the movement and position of your body is relayed to your brain from the sensors surrounding your ears. If the inflammation from your jaw joints spreads to the area around your ears, the signals that your ears are sending may become disrupted resulting in TMJ causing dizziness.
Dizziness can also be related to another term called Vertigo. This is just another term for dizziness that relates to a sensation of motion or spinning. So if TMJ can cause dizziness, TMJ can cause vertigo too. The best way to prevent the dizziness from TMJ is to focus on your jaw joints and protect them from clenching and grinding in your sleep. You can do this by wearing a custom night guard.
A custom night guard will prevent TMJ dizziness and protect your teeth from the harsh realities of grinding and clenching. By wearing a night guard, your nerves and muscles will be protected from becoming inflamed which is a direct trigger to TMJ causing dizziness. You can receive a custom night guard from your dentist, but you’ll need to schedule a visit, have your impressions taken in the office, and then wait while it’s crafted before picking it up at the office. It’s also a costly visit with some night guards costing in the $250-$350 range.
If you’d like to skip the dental costs, but still receive a premium night guard at half the cost, SportingSmiles has been crafting night guards since 2009. By ordering any product from SportingSmiles, customers will receive a pattened impression kit that they will use to take impressions of their teeth from the comfort of their home before using our free 3-way shipping label to send it back to our lab. Our experts can craft you one of six different night guards. Can TMJ cause dizziness? Yes, but it can’t when you wear a night guard!
TMJ can cause dizziness, earaches, headaches, tooth sensitivity, nerve damage, sore muscles, and inflamed muscles, and can even change the shape of your face after years of unprotection. Don’t go another night worrying about TMJ. Receive a professionally crafted custom night guard that is designed to give you maximum comfort and premium protection.
