When the muscles in your jaw become tense, damaged, or tightened, a higher-than-normal amount of physical stress is put on the head. This can lead to headaches and migraines that affect your ability to sleep, eat, and focus at work. This is why at Gentle Dental Care, we are thrilled to offer patients suffering from headaches treatment that targets jaw and mouth problems to help you find lasting relief.
How Can Headaches Be Treated?
Oral conditions such as TMJ dysfunction, overbites, clenched jaws, teeth grinding, and more can cause headaches. However, headaches linked directly to these oral conditions can be treated through the use of two oral appliances: The NTI and the mouthguard.
What is NTI?
The NTI which stands for nociceptive trigeminal inhibitor is a specific type of mouthguard that works as a tension suppression system to prevent actions that occur within the jaw, such as clenching. This mouthguard is designed to prevent the posterior teeth from touching, which can stop jaw clenching. This leads to fewer headaches and migraines.
Who Is a Candidate for NTIs?
It’s always important to undergo a consultation with your dentist about your candidacy for using NTIs. Patients who have damaged front teeth, loose or weak teeth, or those who are suffering from periodontal disease should not use NTIs as it may worsen your already existing oral condition.
Mouthguards
Typically used at night while sleeping, a dental mouthguard is used by patients who constantly grind their teeth or clench their jaws at night. By preventing this, not only will the teeth be protected from the effects of grinding and clenching, but headaches related to an entire night’s worth of jaw tension will be eliminated as well.
Who Is a Candidate for Mouthguards?
Almost anyone is suitable to wear a night mouthguard. Mouthguards are safe, durable, and flexible and are even suitable for use by toddlers. However, if you are someone who has sleep apnea, trouble breathing while sleeping, or gastrointestinal reflux disorder, we do not recommend wearing any mouthguard or oral appliance that could block your mouth or airways.
When Do Patients Begin to Feel Headache Relief?
Wearing mouthguards has been a proven treatment for migraine and headache prevention. Approved by the FDA, these mouthguards provide patients with long-lasting relief and a transition back into a pain-free lifestyle. Within as little as three weeks of routine use of a mouthguard, patients begin to notice migraines and headaches occurring less frequently, allowing them to enjoy better quality sleep, more focused work days, and less facial tension.
Schedule a Consultation
If you are someone suffering from constant headaches and also have recurring jaw or oral pain, schedule your first consultation with the dentists at Gentle Dental Care in Edison, NJ by clicking here. To learn more about mouthguards or to find out if you are a candidate for headache treatment, call 732.549.5660.
