There are many types of headaches, but they all disrupt your day, affect your mood, and keep you from functioning normally. While headaches are often multifactoral, muscular tension can be a significant contributing factor. Most commonly, facial pain and temporal headaches are due to tension in the group of muscles that close and open your mouth.
These muscles are designed to function in harmony with the shape and position of your teeth and the jaw joints, staying relaxed and pain free. But, when there is disharmony between the joints and the teeth, the muscles have to work overtime to be sure your teeth come together safely every time.
Headaches are a common result of these muscles overworking into fatigue and spasm. The pain in the chewing muscles that attach your forehead, cheekbones, and temples to your lower jaw cause the headaches most of us are familiar with.
It has been our repeated experience we are able to significantly decrease the frequency, intensity and duration of our patients’ headaches by balancing their bite so that they can realize occlusal harmony, and their muscles can rest.
Check out TMJ & Jaw Pain to learn more about headaches and other symptoms of TMD (Temporo-Mandibular Disorders).