Waking up in the morning can be difficult. It can be even more difficult when you wake with a splitting headache. For many people waking up with pain is a part of daily life. If you feel like headaches have become a regular thing then you owe it to yourself to find relief! Most are not aware that tooth decay and headaches are far more common than we think!
At Shorewood Family Dental Care we see a lot of patients with headaches. Most of the time, our patients don’t connect their headaches to their dental care. Many of them think it’s from stress, nerves, or it’s simply undiagnosable migraines. What the don’t know is that their teeth and jaw can cause a lot of the same pain, which we can easily fix!
Headaches And Their Oral Health Causes
It might seem simple once you realize that your teeth can cause headaches and migraines but now you might be wondering what problems actually cause them. The reasons of what causes headaches are numerous, and many need to be treated in very different ways.
Tooth Decay
Believe it or not tooth decay and headaches are closely connected, because tooth decay and abscessed roots can actually cause headaches that are referred far from the infected tooth. You may not even realize that your headaches are being caused by a cavity, especially if the surface portion of it is small. Many cavities are pinhole in size but quickly open into massive holes just below the surface of your teeth. If you think tooth decay is causing you headaches please don’t hesitate to call Shorewood Family Dental Care for help.
Teeth Grinding (Bruxism)
Bruxers usually do their grinding in their sleep, so many of them have no idea what’s causing their headaches. If you wake in the morning with a sore jaw, pain in your temples, or soreness in your teeth that fades during the day you might be suffering from bruxism. If you share a bed with someone it’s much easier to find out if you’re doing it compared to if your sleeping alone you may have absolutely no idea.
We can generally identify bruxism by taking a look at the wear on your back teeth. Most people have a general progression of tooth wear as they age, but patients who suffer from bruxism will show premature wear. It’s also common for bruxers to have bite issues due to loosening teeth.
A Misaligned Bite
One of the top reasons patients get traditional braces is to correct bite problems. You might not realize it, but over time a misaligned bite can cause serious pain and discomfort! We’ve seen plenty of patients with headaches who have an improper bite that causes uneven muscle use. Your facial muscles were designed to share the workload from your mouth, and when they aren’t doing so evenly you can end up with serious pain!
Problems With The Jaw Joint
Another common source of headaches is a problem with the temporomandibular joint, or TMJ. This is the joint that hinges your jaw, and it’s pretty easy for it to become irritated or damaged! Any of the conditions discussed above can cause disorders of the TMJ. Additionally, they could also be due to a slipped cartilage disc, arthritis, or inflammation.
TMJ disorders are the most common way that oral health issues turn into headaches. The good news is that we’re able to treat them all with ease at our Shorewood office. Whether it’s a misaligned bite, teeth grinding, jaw clenching, or any other common cause of TMJ pain we’re able to treat it, provide relief, and keep it away for good using oral appliance therapy.
Oral Appliances For Headache Relief
When you come to see us because of headaches we’ll start by performing a full exam. Before we determine the best course of treatment we want to have a complete understanding of the pain you’re in! Once we know just what’s causing that headache we’ll work on building you the perfect oral appliance.
We custom-design nighttime mouthguards for headache relief. This will cushion your jaw and keep it in a comfortable, natural position while you sleep. The vast majority of patients with TMJ pain and other headaches find relief with these devices. Just eight hours of wear can be enough to reset your jaw for the day ahead!
Tooth Decay and Headaches: Get Relief The Easy Way
How much sleep have you lost to headaches? How often has your day been ruined because of something as simple as grinding your teeth? Don’t spend any more time living with the discomfort of headaches caused by oral health problems. Make an appointment at Shorewood Family Dental Care today!
You can reach us by phone at 815-725-5991 or you can request an appointment by filling out our online form. We look forward to providing you with relief as soon as possible!
