Can Dental Problems Trigger Migraine Headaches?
Billions of people globally experience migraines, including 36 million Americans. While the medical fraternity has identified specific migraine triggers as bright light, allergies, high humidity, hormonal fluctuations, et cetera and provided medical or preventive treatments to help with the condition, dental problems are often not mentioned as triggers causing migraine headaches. Thankfully Premium Dental believes migraine headaches and also emanate from oral health problems. This dental facility states common dental issues can also give rise to migraine headaches among people.
What Are the Causes of Migraine Dentists Attribute to These Headaches?
Some of the most common dental issues you think are never associated with migraines can surprise you by causing the excruciating headaches you often complain about. While you may search for remedies from medical professionals, a visit to the best dentist in Irvine reveals some causes of migraine that could be affecting you. They are:
Bad Bites
If you have missing, loose, or misaligned teeth, the problems create a bad bite forcing your jaw muscles to work harder to bring your teeth together, close your mouth, or swallow foods. In addition, the bad bite leads to persistent inflammation in the mouth, working as a cause for triggering a migraine headache.
Bruxism
Teeth grinding and clenching, also known as bruxism, causes muscle and gum inflammation to trigger migraines and headaches. Unfortunately, many people are unaware they clench and grind their teeth unless they have the condition evaluated by a dentist 92604. People with bruxism are often affected by sore jaws, clicking sounds when opening the mouth and a dull persistent headache originating around the temples or behind the eyes. They also have tender teeth, challenges opening and closing their mouth, and tongue indentations to confirm bruxism affects them.
Tooth Decay and Gum Disease
You may find it surprising to realize tooth decay and gum disease can make you believe you are suffering from headaches instead of oral infections by sending pain signals to your head. In reality, a throbbing toothache also triggers a migraine episode or headaches.
Can Dentists Treat Migraine?
The causes of migraines described are comfortably treated by dentists providing various remedies for specific issues affecting you. For example, dentists recommend you receive orthodontic treatments or have your missing teeth replaced using dental bridges or implants if you have a bad bite. This is because missing teeth in your mouth cause your remaining teeth to shift position creating a bad bite. In addition, malocclusion in your mouth not just leaves you with crooked and misaligned teeth but also because a bad bite makes you prone to dental infections like tooth decay and gum disease. In either case, dentists have a remedy to help you with migraine prevention in Irvine by treating the conditions affecting you to provide relief from migraine headaches.
When affected by migraines, the problem affects your quality of life, sending you searching for remedies from various medical professionals. You may receive migraine prevention near you from the professionals you visit who recommend avoiding the triggers causing the headaches besides recommending medications to deal with the problem. Migraine prevention techniques are undoubtedly influential, and if you manage to avoid the specific triggers, you can gradually overcome the problem affecting your quality of life.
However, if you have dental issues like the ones described above and seek treatment from the Irvine dentist, they can identify the problems affecting you to treat them while simultaneously providing relief from the migraine headaches you experience.
Problems like advanced gum disease may require ongoing periodontal treatment besides maintaining your oral hygiene in optimal condition. Dentists control bruxism by providing night guards to keep your teeth apart when sleeping to prevent them from grinding each other.
Another dental problem that can give rise to migraines is TMJ disorders when the joint connecting your jaw to your skull is damaged by impacts, arthritis, or dislocation of the jaw joint. Identifying TMJ issues is challenging, but the problem is not life-threatening. However, if TMJ disorders are causing your migraines, you need to undergo extensive evaluation to determine the precise reasons for the disorder and may receive medications besides an oral appliance to treat the condition. Medicines and oral devices are effective against TMJ disorders, which disappear in a couple of months even without treatment.
Dental problems affecting you undoubtedly trigger migraine headaches. Therefore besides identifying your migraine triggers, you must also visit the Irvine dentist near Westpark to evaluate your oral health and determine whether it is causing the migraines affecting you.