Dr. Mogell Dental Blog

Boca Raton Cosmetic Dentist

Morning Headaches - We Can Help

Thursday, November 07, 2013

Do you feel like you wake up every single morning with a headache? You aren't alone.

Two of the most common reasons for these morning headaches are teeth clenching during sleep and obstructive sleep apnea. Fortunately, we treat both disorders at our Boca Raton office. I'll talk about teeth clenching in this post and sleep apnea in the next.

Grinding or clenching your teeth is called bruxism. Many people grind their teeth and don't even realize it. A few grind throughout the day but the vast majority of teeth grinding occurs while we are asleep. Unless a bed partner complains about the grinding noises next to them all night, or teeth begin to crack and break, a night grinder will be unaware.

Bruxism not only damages teeth (I have seen cases where teeth have been worn down to almost nothing), but it also leads to painful TMJ symptoms, including headaches. The TMJ, temporomandibular joint, is your jaw joint and is one of the most complicated joints in the human body. Add to this the unbelievable strength of the jaw muscles and it is easy to see how the joint can become inflamed or damaged.

Night time grinding can't really be "cured" but we can stop further damage and put an end to the headache and muscle pain. By completing a full TMJ workup we can find the optimal "happy place" for your jaw and create an orthotic device that is worn during sleep. This orthotic will keep your jaw in the optimal position and prevent damage to the teeth.

Grinding may be caused by stress but in some cases it appears to be a symptom of obstructive sleep apnea! More about that in my next post.

Please contact 561-394-9000 today to schedule your TMJ consultation. You don't need to live with constant headache pain. The diagnosis and treatment of TMJ dysfunction has been an integral part of my practice for over 20 years.

Labels: obstructive sleep apnea, TMJ