Your dentist can examine your jaw and likely tell if you have a problem with the TMJ and talk with you about treatments that could help relieve your migraines. What is the link between migraines and the TMJ?

Misaligned TMJ Causes Tension

The TMJ is the joint that anchors your jawbone to your skull. This complex joint is responsible for helping you chew your food and speak properly, not to mention yawn! The muscles that help to support this joint may be the cause of your migraines if you have a misaligned TMJ. When the TMJ is misaligned, it causes pressure on these muscles whenever you move your jaw. This is because the muscles are trying to readjust themselves back into place—the constant pressure of these straining muscles that support an uneven TMJ can cause migraines!

Jaw Problems Cause Additional Symptoms

If you have a problem with your TMJ, such as misalignment, this issue can cause additional symptoms that may contribute to your migraines. For instance, people with a TMJ disorder are more likely to grind their teeth. Teeth grinding puts immense pressure on your teeth and jaw and can be responsible for tension headaches and migraines. You may also experience other symptoms such as aching teeth or even earaches along with your migraines if you suffer from a TMJ disorder!

Teeth Touching Creates Pressure

If you have an abnormal bite in which your teeth constantly touch, also called malocclusion, you likely have a TMJ disorder. Your teeth shouldn’t touch at all—not when the jaw is resting and very rarely during eating. When your teeth touch as the result of an uneven jaw, this touching can cause your jaw muscles to contract. When this happens, pressure is created and this pressure can cause tension throughout the cranium and may end up causing a severe headache or migraine.

Causes and Treatment

There’s no exact cause of TMJ disorders. Your TMJ misalignment could be the result of an injury to your face and jaw, malocclusion, or even stress, anxiety, and arthritis. Often it may be a combination of these factors that causes your TMJ disorder and migraine headaches. Fortunately, there is treatment for TMJ disorders. Your dentist can examine your jaw joint and talk with you about any symptoms you may be experiencing.

If you’ve been suffering from migraines and medication or other therapies haven’t helped, the underlying problem could be in your jaw! The link between the TMJ and migraines is evident in that problems with the TMJ create pressure and tension which can lead to severe migraines, especially if the problem is ongoing. By visiting an experienced dentist, you can find out if jaw tension or a misaligned bite is actually causing your headaches!

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Excessive muscular activity in the head and neck region, particularly with the muscles of the jaw, require an increased amount of input to this trigger area. Even minor jaw contractive forces and bite discrepancies can be enough to elicit the onset of a migraine. Individuals who must cope with heightened levels of stress, especially when combined with grinding or clenching of their teeth, are typically at greater risk for these headaches. With proper diagnoses and the appropriate use to certain modern-day dental appliances, your dentist can alleviate and sometimes eliminate migraine pain.

Recent studies have shown that certain dental treatments can play an important role in reducing the number and the intensity of migraine headaches. By reducing and harmonizing the forces that patients place on their jaws and facial muscles, there is a significant decrease in the amount of activity being sent to the “migraine generator.” Research in neuromuscular science has shown that when a patient wears a dental bite appliance the destructive forces on the jaw muscles is reduced by up to 70%. Furthermore, these appliances can actually help the brain deprogram or condition itself to diminish teeth grinding and clenching tendencies.

It goes without saying, that chronic headache pain can significantly affect a person’s quality of life. If left untreated, this debilitating pain can negatively impact an individual’s personal, family and work experiences. Dental appliances alone are certainly not the only answer to migraine headaches, but they may significantly reduce what triggers these attacks, and perhaps even more important, prevent the dependency on pharmacologic treatment alone. If you are suffering from frequent headaches or migraines, give your dentist a call and have a discussion on certain available treatments, your quality of life is worth it.

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