• If the height of the teeth is wrong this can cause imbalance in the action of the jaw muscles and a marked degree of tension in the face and jaw.
  Dentures should be replaced regularly as they wear down, and may have to be built up to allow for bone loss over a period of time.
  
  No back teeth
  Occasionally people have all their back teeth removed leaving just the front incisors.
• If no dentures are worn, all biting and chewing is done on the front teeth.
• This places enormous strain on the structures of the head and neck.
• It almost always leads to a great deal of neck tension, which can cause headaches and neck pain.

• Tension, tenderness and irritability in the muscles of the face, head and neck.

• Sinus and ear problems, headache, migraine, neck or lower back pain.
• The immediate pain and tenderness after an extraction, can mean that one side of the mouth cannot be used for chewing.
• Thus creating an unequal bite with resultant strain on the rest of the face, head and neck.
  
  

Pain and clicking in the jaw or temporomandibular joint (TMJ), is fairly common.

• There are many causes, one of which may be imbalances and stresses through the face or teeth, and osteopathic treatment can sometimes help.
  
  Bruxism (grinding teeth)
  Many people grind their teeth at night or clench their jaw when they are concentrating or under stress.

• Orthodontic treatment has a dramatic effect on the normal functioning of the face, and can have repercussions throughout the whole body.
• Enormous stresses are imposed through the bones of the face as the teeth are forcibly moved in their sockets.
• This restricts and disrupts normal motion of the facial bones, and can cause tension back into the head and neck
• Common Symptoms
  Headache, clicking jaw, painful joints, irritability, reduced concentration, neck pain, lowered immunity and an increased vulnerability to musculoskeletal strains.
  

• This is definitely not the case, dental work is skilfully performed with the minimum of stress to the mechanics of the face.
• However, it does highlight the very important connection between stresses resulting from dental problems/treatment, and the types of problems that osteopaths see.

• The forces used to extract teeth may be transmitted through to the articulations and joints of some of the delicate bones of the face.
• This may strain and disrupt their normal movement.
• An upper plate or denture has the effect of holding the bones of the upper jaw rigidly together, preventing or severely limiting their natural movement.