Disclaimer:
Any medical/health information in this course is provided for general informational and educational purposes only and does not substitute for professional advice. Accordingly, before taking any actions based on such information, I encourage you to consult with the appropriate professionals. The use or reliance of any information contained in this course is solely at your own risk.
Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) is a connective tissue disorder that affects joints throughout the body - including the jaw.
The disorder has several different subtypes, but one of the most common features across subtypes is joint hypermobility, or joints that move more easily and farther than they are designed to move.
This extra movement occurs because ligaments, a special kind of connective tssue responsible for restraining joint movement (kind of like seat belts for the joint), are more loosey-goosey than normal.
Because of this extra movement, it’s not uncommon for people with EDS to have a long history of party tricks (like “double-jointed” limbs) or frequent dislocations throughout their body (commonly the shoulders and kneecaps).
Here are three ways this extra mobility affects the jaw in individuals with EDS:
Quickly-Shifting Teeth
Did you know that teeth have ligaments (remember - think seat belts!) that help them stay in place?
In people with EDS, the looseness of these ligaments can allow teeth to shift quickly.
Because of this, individuals with EDS often note that their bite (how their teeth fit together) changes frequently.
How your teeth fit together impacts the position of the jaw. If your bite changes rapidly, your jaw may struggle to adjust to its new position.
This commonly happens when someone has significant dental work that changes how their teeth fit. However, with someone with EDS, their bite can change rapidly with more minor dental work or orthodontia (braces or Invisalign). Sometimes, individuals may have an onset of jaw pain or headaches after receiving these treatments.
TMJ Hypermobility/Subluxation
The TMJ has ligaments (seat belts!) that keep the jaw joint in place. Since these can be more loose in individuals with EDS, they might notice that their jaw pops out of place when they fully open - for example, when yawning or eating wide-diameter foods such as a burger or cupcake.
Often, the jaw stays stuck or locked open until the person shifts their jaw back into place to close. In some cases, they may even have to push the jaw back “into track” with their hand on the side of their face. This popping can sometimes be associated with pain, since the joint isn’t meant to travel this far.
In severe cases, the jaw can be stuck open and is unable to be closed with any jaw movement or extra assistance from the person’s hand. This is called dislocation, and it can be really scary! In this situation, a person can’t close their mouth - they are stuck wide open like a hippopotamus. Dislocation usually leads to a visit to a healthcare provider (typically the emergency room) to have the jaw put back into place.
See our post here for more on TMJ subluxation.
Neck Hypermobility
It’s common for a neck problem to cause jaw pain or headaches. This can occur because of how nerves from the neck connect with nerves from the jaw and face (if you want to get nerdy - these nerves hang out in a place called the trigeminocervical nucleus).
Remember - in EDS, the joints in the body can have too much movement (hypermobility). When hypermobility occurs at the neck, the extra mobility can cause problems with nerves and other tissues in the region, often leading to neck pain, jaw pain, or headaches.
All this extra motion in the jaw and neck can lead to pain in the joint or muscles around the joint. Sometimes, this results in a limitation in opening (think of the body as “locking down” the joint to prevent all the excessive motion from occurring) - preventing someone from not only eating wide-diameter foods, but normal foods. This might seem kind of backwards - how can you go from too much motion to too little motion? But, this is often how the the body will compensate to protect the joint.
If this post sounds like it applies to you, or if you are an individual with EDS who would like to learn ways to prevent future problems, reach out to us via the “Contact Us” page. We’ll call you to learn more about what’s going on and whether an evaluation is the right next step for you.
Cheers,
Dr. Rebecca Salstrand, PT
References:
Oelerich O, Daume L, Yekkalam N, Hanisch M, Menne MC. Temporomandibular disorders among Ehlers-Danlos syndromes: a narrative review. J Int Med Res. 2024 Apr;52(4):3000605241242582. doi: 10.1177/03000605241242582. PMID: 38603608; PMCID: PMC11010766.
Mitakides J, Tinkle BT. Oral and mandibular manifestations in the Ehlers-Danlos syndromes. Am J Med Genet C Semin Med Genet. 2017 Mar;175(1):220-225. doi: 10.1002/ajmg.c.31541. Epub 2017 Feb 13. PMID: 28192626.
Comments