“Chew well” is one of those recommendations that brings back to childhood and first dentition, yet chewing well is also important for adults and protects the health of the entire organism.
What does chewing mean?
Chewing well is not an action that concerns only the assimilation of food, in dental terms chewing involves a more complex action involving the dental arches and also the temporomandibular system. Chewing also involves the tongue and many muscles.
The dentist, therefore, will evaluate chewing both from a structural and functional point of view. Regarding the structural level, the dentist observes the correct alignment between the upper arch and the lower arch; while for the functional level we observe the masticatory movements and the correct functioning of the neuromuscular system.
The correct alignment of the two arches, that is a correct dental occlusion, allows a balanced movement in the opening and closing of the mouth, maintaining a correct chewing. In this case, chewing well means that there is a perfect balance between jaw and mandible and that the latter, the only moving part of the face, intersects perfectly and symmetrically in the articular fossa, that is the bone space that we have at ear level.
If everything works perfectly, chewing and swallowing are actions that happen without effort and without pain.
A small misalignment is sufficient to compromise the entire process and therefore a correct chewing.
What is wrong with chewing?
In nine cases out of ten you are not aware of not chewing well, this is because the temporomandibular system is adaptive and in cases of malocclusion makes extra efforts to still perform the action of chewing and swallowing.
Therefore, even if we continue to chew normally, the body tries to correct the misalignment of the arch and becomes fatigued, causing suffering to the body.
Some symptoms of a wrong chewing can be:
- frequent headaches;
- jaw pains;
- backache.
You can chew badly for several reasons:
- a fallen tooth;
- a filling that has been skipped or not cleaned well;
- abrasion of dental enamel;
- joint problems;
- crooked teeth:
- supernumerary teeth.
They are all causes that lead to a misalignment of the dental arches and that gradually, sometimes without the immediate awareness of the problem, lead to a series of dysfunctions.
How to get back to chewing well
Restoring a correct chewing is essential both to maintain the body in perfect balance, avoiding muscular tension and joint damage, and to avoid disturbances of the digestive system by swallowing badly chewed food.
If the malocclusion is due to an incorrect position of the elements in the arch, it is possible to intervene with an orthodontic therapy. If the misalignment is due to the lack of a tooth, it is very important to restore it as soon as possible.
Do not neglect a pain or discomfort during chewing, it may be the first alarm bell.
