Are You Waking Up With Headaches?

Headaches are a big problem for many people. Many treatments and medications are available for headaches too, just look at all the ads on TV. But to treat a headache effectively it is best to know the cause of the headache in the first place.

There are dental causes for headaches too. The type of headache dentists can help with are muscle strain or tension headaches, commonly felt in the morning, possibly with neck and jaw pain. This pain is caused by intense contractions of muscles around your jaws. These muscles even extend way up on both sides of your head ( called the Temporalis muscles). Many people exhibit involuntary clenching and grinding of their teeth at night that can overload these muscles. This is a reflex action - feedback from the teeth causes even more clenching and pain.

Traditionally dentists have fabricated a "niteguard"- an appliance that covers all the teeth on the upper or lower arch ( similar to a sports mouthguard). It has a flat biting surface that lets the teeth slide so there is no grinding damage to teeth. But this will not stop the positive feedback cycle, the teeth can sense the jaws clenching, causing more clenching - a reflex remember? So there is another type of appliance I have used successfully for pain relief called an "NTI". In short, it's a mini niteguard that fits over 4 front teeth. The back teeth don't touch and there is much reduced chewing muscle action. So these muscles are more relaxed and won't be painful. And so the "NTI" may help eliminate the need for pain medication.

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