Migraine and Tension Headache Treatment in Shelby, Michigan

April 17, 2011 by · Leave a Comment

At The Gentle Dentist located in Shelby Twp., Michigan we see a lot of our new dental clients who  have a history of  tension headaches and migraine headaches which hit them when they wake up from sleep.  Many people like Dawn in this interview have given up hope and just think they will have to just live with headaches for their entire lives.  Their physicians will put them on medications and tell them that this “pill” will take care of your problem.  The problem is that relieving the pain does not get to the source of the pain. Many times headache pain is brought on by a combination of a poor bite, stress and how the patient handles the stress.


I see many patients in our dental practice who have had previous dental treatment including crowns, fillings and orthodontics who have symptoms and regular headaches.  When the teeth don’t fit together and mesh properly it can create disharmony in the jaw joint and the muscles.  Stress and clenching will often bring on tension headaches especially if their bite is off.

Treatment with the NTI prevents the back teeth from touching and therefore the patient can’t clench down hard.  Try this on yourself- Place your finger tips on your temples.  This will be an indicator of how hard you can bite down.  Now put a pencil between your front teeth and bite down and compare this with the amount of force you can generate when biting down on the back teeth.  When only the front teeth touch this prevents the patient’s ability to bite down hard.  Headaches usually will diminsh over time when the ability to bite down hard is reduced.

If one of the major influences of the headaches are a bad bite then the maximum affect isn’t obtained until the bite can be adjusted.  This equilibration is necessary to eliminate the triggers that bring on the pain.  When the NTI device is removed after using it during the night the teeth should bite uniformly.  If this isn’t taken care of then only limited resolution of the headache can be accomplished.  The teeth adjustment (equilibration) is a separate process that does’t require numbing and is very effective for long term headache resolution.   For more information visit our website at  The Gentle Dentist or go to www.headachehope.com.

Filed Under: Dental Patient Testimonials, General Dentistry, Headache treatment, Oral Conditions, TMJ Pain Tagged With: , , , ,

Shelby Dentist: Tension Headache and Poor Bite Treatment.

April 21, 2010 by ·

This patient has been suffering from headaches and has sought treatment from five dentists in the course of two years.  She was told that it was just because she grinds her teeth and they couldn’t do anything for her. Tension  Headaches and migraines are very common when the bite is altered many times with dental procedures and crowns that aren’t adjusted properly.  Missing teeth, crowns, bridges, and even fillings that aren’t properly adjusted after they have been placed will stress the muscles, teeth and TMJ.

The body attempts to alter the shape and size of these restorations but in an attempt to do so the muscles become stressed and this affects the jaw joint and teeth.

Things to look for are:

  • Sensitive teeth especially when waking up.
  • loose teeth
  • headaches which originate from the temporal area on the side of the head.
  • neck pain
  • Migraine pain
  • Clicking in the jaw which leads to jaw pain.

If these listed symptoms describe you and if it may have started after braces, after a filling, crown or bridge has been placed then give us a call at (586)247-3500.  More than likely we can help you.  You can also email us at Info@TheGentleDentist.com.

Filed Under: Dental Videos, Fillings, General Dentistry, Headache treatment, How to choose a dentist, Mouth pain, TMJ Pain Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Headaches and your bite-The Relationship

June 6, 2009 by ·

Having  just returned from a Seminar relating the way a person bites and level of comfort they will have in their head and shoulders.  Stress Headaches are very common and many times this relates to the level of stress the person has, the occlusion (bite), and the level in which a person handles their stress.  Headaches are very complex in both their origin and the way they effect the individual.   The use of spraying muscles and using pressure points can reduce headaches if they are muscular in nature.  Jaw pain can also be referred in nature. For example, pain in the side of the face can be generated  from a problem or knot in the muscle in the shoulder area.   If you suffer from headaches or your teeth don’t fit together like they used to give us a call at (586)247-3500 or visit us at www.thegentledentist.com.  Our gentle dental office is located in Shelby township, macomb Michigan. 

The use of medications to relax the muscles are helpful for a short period of time up to 6 weeks. This, in addition to a bite guard to protect the teeth are very effective to resolve muscle pain.  For those patients who wake themselves up at night may benefit from medications that used in high doses are anti depressants.  Elavil is an example of a short term medication that is used to help patients get to a deeper level of sleep in a low dosage.  This is also used in low dosages for up to 6 weeks to help break the cycle of pain from TMD (Tempro-mandibular dysfunction).

Filed Under: General Dentistry, Headache treatment, Nutrition, Oral Conditions, Sleeping Disorders, TMJ Pain, Tooth replacement Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,