Articles

Headaches

Headaches
Headaches are one of the most common symptoms of a TMJ (temporomandibular joint) problem.

Tension headaches are the most common type of headache. It is often described as a feeling of wearing a hat two sizes too small, with pain in a ring around the head, or as a migraine headache. The TMJ headache is a tension type of headache.

There are a few TMJ related causes for tension headaches. Constant contraction of muscle fibres within a muscle create tension, pressure or a tight feeling in the face and head. Constant tight muscle fibres prevent or reduce blood flow to that area. The body sends more blood to these areas and this can result in an increase in general blood pressure to the muscles and head, sometimes referred to as vascular headaches. Clenching and grinding the teeth, which are TMJ symptoms, produce pain from the muscles in the head, which is a headache.

Unfortunately, these headaches can be so frequent or severe that they are frequently misdiagnosed and treated as migraine headaches.

At Yokine dental centre we will often refer you to Ivan Margolis our specialist physio therapist who we work closely with to try and help our patients over come this very "real" problem.

We may also suggest a soft splint which you wear at night while you sleep. This helps with tooth grinding and often reduces the pain during the day.
The soft splint is made by our dental teqinician Hylton Rodkin and it normally takes a week to prepare.

We really recognise this as a real problem and with our day to day stress we do not need the additional "headache" of TMJ

Please speak to your dentist if you have any of the above concerns.