Fed up with constant headaches? How our dentist can help to alleviate them
Do you frequently wake up with a stiff neck, a headache or the start of a migraine?
Does that new memory foam pillow not seem to be helping?
In the UK, many people suffer from headaches and, worryingly, there is a growing increase in the number of people who report having migraines. While your doctor can prescribe medications to alleviate these issues, this does not address or explore the potential root of the issue. Surprisingly, it is rarely in your head!
At Aura Dental, our team frequently sees patients who report suffering from chronic migraines and headaches, to which our dentist St John’s Wood can offer a simple solution. After an examination of your mouth, we can determine if your teeth or jaws are involved in your recurrent head pain and can begin designing a treatment plan to help you get a good night’s sleep and fewer headaches.
But which dental conditions can cause recurrent headaches? Our dentist St John’s Wood answers that question below.
Temporomandibular joint disorder
Also known as TMJ, temporomandibular joint disorder causes inflammation and discomfort around your jaw joint and subsequently, can impact on your ability to open and close your mouth correctly.
Our dentist St John’s Wood will be able to spot indicators of TMJ, the most common one being a click when you open your mouth and will be able to offer you a dental splint and a series of oral exercises to perform before bed and in the morning, which will alleviate any associated headaches.
Bruxism and grinding
Commonly linked to medications, bruxism or grinding of your teeth often occurs while you sleep and can present many associated issues
The key one which causes those irritating morning headaches is the overuse of the muscles in the jaw which in turn leads to pain in the neck. This can cause migraines and headaches when you awake, and also disrupted sleep. Our team can once again offer a dental splint or mouthguard to prevent bruxing and help you get a refreshing 40 winks!
Molar misalignment
With a large surface area, misaligned molars can cause headaches as and when they are rubbed against each other, causing persistent neck pain and migraines.
Often an aftereffect of eating, headaches associated with misaligned molars can be alleviated with orthodontic treatments designed to help your molars fit together properly.
Missing or rotting teeth
It should come as no surprise that a tooth which has succumbed to decay can cause headaches via nerve pain, but missing teeth can also cause your upper and lower jaw to be misaligned, thus putting pressure on the surrounding muscles.
Our team will explore restorative options with you if your rotten tooth needs to be extracted or if you already have a missing tooth, which will prevent further headaches. Brilliant!
Wisdom teeth
Partially erupted wisdom teeth can cause head pain, neck pain and migraines and so, our team will endeavour to remove the offending teeth, resolving the pressure issues thus helping the uncomfortable sensations to reduce.