The average person swallows 2,000 times a day, causing the upper and lower occlusal teeth to push the skull together. People with malocclusion or missing teeth may have related health problems, such as frequent headaches or sleep disturbances, because their chin muscles must work harder to put the teeth together and strain the surrounding chin muscles.
This strain is called orofacial pain and is defined as any pain in or around the face. Some people may experience pain in the ears, eyes, sinuses, cheeks or sides, and other experiences when moving the chin.
Oral pain can also be caused by temporomandibular joint disorders (TMD), stress, neurological disorders, or muscle spasms. Oral pain is a serious cause of tumors in the jaw region, pain caused by oral cancer or heart disease.
