YOUR HEADACHE MAY BE HIDING BEHIND YOUR SMILE

It's not just about your smile!  Many of my patients visit us frequently in search of relief from headaches.

Many patients suffering from regular headaches may actually be experiencing them as a symptom of disorders related to the jaw and sensorimotor complex.  These may include problems related to the head and neck, the temporomandibular joints ( TMJ ), the motion of the mandibular ( lower jaw ), and forces brought on by the teeth and muscles.   Millions of people are affected by temporomandibular dysfunction, migraines, chronic headaches, and facial pain.  The effects of these are often devastating to one's life and ability to maintain a healthy emotional and physical state. 

Although the most common reason patients visit their dentist is for treatment of toothaches, broken or chipped teeth, and bleeding gums, my patients also choose to seek our help in trying to resolve the less obvious signs of breakdown.  These may be a direct result of the disorders related to the sensorimotor and dentomandibular disorders spoken of above.  These may be the underlying cause of the symptomatic and asymptomatic concerns, some of which include TMJ disorders, fracturing restorations. tooth wear, bruxism, headaches, migraines, and other problems.

The presence of unbalanced and overloaded muscle forces in the jaw, and as related to how your teeth work against each other, is an observation dentists today should be trained to diagnose and treat.  Today's dental practice is just about filling teeth and creating beautiful smiles.  We have a responsibility to play a prevalent role in assessing and treating dental force-related problems.  It is these, precisely, that are the causes of many of my patients' ailments, pain, and chief concerns.  

During our dental examination, we are able to search for and identify early warning signs in the mouth that might alert us to potential dysfunction conditions in other parts of your body.  Among these are issues related to sleep disorders, postural imbalances, migraines, headaches, tinnitus, and airway control.  All these may be caused by unbalanced muscle forces.

Once muscle imbalance is diagnosed, treatment protocols should include conservative modalities designed to avoid the progression of disease and ultimately the need for invasive and surgical protocols.  Introduction of orthopedic appliances designed to position the mandible in ideal positions as related to the joints and muscles, reduction of inflammation, strengthening of the musculoskeletal system by regular jaw exercises, headache alleviation, balancing your bite,  and the  elimination of dental tooth pain/restorative breakdown should be just considered when aiming to stabilize the patient entering my office wanting my help.  

The adaptation of assessment and treatment protocols designed to employ both objective and subjective technology has allowed the dental profession to expand its reach beyond the broken filling when caring for you, the patient, in a comprehensive, whole person, approach. Because of this we can, today, alleviate your headache and migraine concerns as we implement  treatment protocols designed to address unbalanced dental forces.

Remember, we are here to assist you in creating that "Smile You'd Be Proud To Wear...ANYWHERE"!