Many people are surprised to find out the connection between oral health and cognitive functions, but the truth is that one can have a direct impact on the other. When dealing with a specific disorder such as TMD, the fact that the sufferer is in such serious and continual pain means than many of the body's other functions and processes are in danger of being interrupted, including sight and hearing, just to name a couple of examples. But for the purposes of this post we would like to focus exclusively on how it can affect memory:
The Disruption of Chronic Pain
As we just mentioned, whenever someone is dealing with severe or chronic pain of any kind it can have an incredibly damaging impact on a number of other processes in the body. When it comes to memory in particular, problems such as TMD can be so overwhelming that the brain is basically devoted solely to the functions of sending out pain signals and attempting to offer some type of pain relief to the body. This hinders the other common functions and can actually work to prevent things such as converting short-term memories into long-term ones.
The Importance of Head and Jaw Alignment
Another factor is that with TMD, the jaws tend to be misaligned with the neck and skull and, in turn, causes a disruption in the blood flow and fluid movement to the brain. This can lead to issues with memory development and other cognitive functions.
To have your TMD addressed by a dental professional before they lead to more long-term and serious cognitive issues, simply contact one of the helpful associates at our office as quickly as possible. We would be glad to schedule a time to get you evaluated and taken care of immediately.
Dental Blog | Optimum Oral Surgery Group At Optimum Oral Surgery Group, Dr. Donald G. Rebhun has created this informative blog to help educate the community. Read the dental blog posts here. Optimum Oral Surgery, 21 E Main Street, Moorestown, NJ 08057 : (856)778-8686 : optimumoralsurgery.com : 12/9/2023 : Tags: oral surgeon Moorestown Voorhees Mullica Hill :
Many people are surprised to find out the connection between oral health and cognitive functions, but the truth is that one can have a direct impact on the other. When dealing with a specific disorder such as TMD, the fact that the sufferer is in such serious and continual pain means than many of the body's other functions and processes are in danger of being interrupted, including sight and hearing, just to name a couple of examples. But for the purposes of this post we would like to focus exclusively on how it can affect memory: