TMJ Headache and Sleep Apnea
Your headaches may be dental related…and curable!
If you suffer from migraine headache pain, please call Comfort Dental immediately and ask about treatment for Temporomandibular Joint Syndrome (tmj),or TMJ Headache, a curable condition that arises from joint disorders related to the jaw. If your jawbone does not align correctly the facial muscles that control chewing can cause head and neck pain. If you experience pain or discomfort while biting or hear popping sounds when you bite, you should be tested for tmj.
Causes for TMJ Dysfunction
Have you endured years of chronic jaw, face, or head pain? If so, you’re not alone. 2 out of 10 people suffer with frequent headaches, migraines, popping jaw joints, stiff neck, back pain, dizziness, earaches, and other related problems. Not every medical doctor or dentist can recognize and treat such dysfunctions. Only specially trained and qualified dentists can help you with such problems that may be related to your tmj(TemporoMandibular Joint).
Here is a simple self-test you can do to get some insight into your chronic pain. Place your index finger tip into and in front of your ear. Open and close your mouth. If it hurts, or pops, or creaks – they are not functioning properly!
If it does not hurt, do NOT dismiss a jaw joint problem. Your pain issues may actually be more chronic. Migraine patients normally have no abnormal joint sounds or pain. These same patients, however, suffer with degenerated jaw joints that remain undiagnosed by their dentist and never evaluated by their physician. Only skilled craniofacial TMJ pain experts, such as Comfort Dental, can properly evaluate you for this problem.
What causes TMJ dysfunction?
Genetics (overbite, poor bite, abnormal jaw position) and stress are the most common factors that lead to clenching and bruxing (grinding of the teeth). This eventually leads to tight shoulders, clenched jaws, and other muscle contractions. Genetics, anxiety and frustrations can compress the jaw joints to the point that the “brake pad,” or joint disc, wears out. As the disc becomes thinner, pain begins!
As the disc wears out, it can become dislocated and cause a popping and clicking sound when you eat, talk, drink, yawn, etc. After many years, arthritic changes cause a one-way degenerative process that leads to more pain not only in the joints themselves, but through muscles spasms in other parts of the body. The internal stress further saps the body and diminishes physical energy.
If you suffer with tmj problems, it is necessary to receive a proper diagnosis in order to plan the appropriate treatment. At Comfort Dental, we stand at the “head of the class” for facial pain and headache treatments due to our innovative diagnostic training and unique treatment methods which are why we have a separate practice: The Michigan tmj / headache Institute. There are barely a handful of skilled headache/tmj experts in the entire world. Comfort Dental is one of them. We caution readers to be skeptical of many practitioners who claim to be able to treat these issues. The complexity involved in these treatments disqualifies even the best efforts of many practitioners.
Neuromuscular Dentistry – Bite Occlusion Analysis
Other Considerations for necessary TMJ Treatment
Other possible causes of TMJ Headache and subsequent Sleep Apnea include crowding of teeth or other malocclusions, especially ones caused by deep overbites (top teeth sticking out too far over the lower teeth). A small jaw can cause compression of the joint since the muscles tend to pull the deficient, weak mandible too forcefully into the joint space thus causing compression. Additionally, sometimes the front teeth may drift backwards due to orthodontic pressures – causing compression of the jaw joint.
The jaw joint is so intimately close to the brain that over 38% of nerve impulses to the rest of your body may be affected if compression is taking place. Your entire nervous system can become unbalanced, leading to many other health problems. Headaches, sinus congestion, ear problems, blurry vision, irritability, and poor sleep are only a few of the consequences of jaw imbalances.
TMJ related Sleep Loss and Sleep Apnea
Besides pain, one of the biggest problems you may be experiencing is lack of proper sleep. Patients that have jaw joint compression cannot receive adequate sleep. Uninterrupted sleep is the most important aspect of maintaining a healthy body. You should be getting a minimum of 7 to 8 hours of sleep every night. If you wake up during the night, your body is letting you know that you are not sleeping. The most common reason is a tmj problem. Clenching, grinding, and jaw compression wakes you up. The problem can also be due to sleep apnea, which may be caused by a large tongue or snoring. A large tongue can block your airway thereby waking you up. Snoring, likewise, may be interrupting your sleep. All of these problems lead to a vicious cycle that does not allow your nervous system to rest and heal your body. It depletes your physical energy “gas tank”, instead of refueling it! Lack of sleep leads to tiredness, irritability, poor work performance, and health problems.
Click the TMJ Treatment links below to learn more about TMJ Migraine Headache Pain Relief with Comfort Smiles: