In our Dalton dentist office, we can provide relief from pain in your jaw or face. Many people do not realize that how their jaw or face feels is often impacted by what is happening inside of their mouth. The jaw is connected to the head by the temporomandibular joint. When strain is put on your teeth or jaw, that joint can be impacted, and you can end up with discomfort, soreness, or even a bad headache.
A trip to our Dalton dentist office can provide relief from headaches.
If you are constantly waking up with a headache, let us know so that we can determine if your dental health may be contributing to it. Headaches are often caused by stress and tension. While most people attribute this to tension in the back or neck muscles, also a possibility, the tension could be coming from grinding or clenching teeth at night. By making aggressive movements or tensing your jaw, you could be placing undue stress on the temporomandibular joint without ever realizing it. When we examine your teeth, we will probably see signs of grinding or clenching since this is likely to manifest itself as wear on your teeth. Your teeth may show signs of erosion, strange ridges or look worn down in general. During your dental exam, we will watch for these signs so that we can make a recommendation as to treatment. There are cases where you could be clenching your teeth without wear, but this is very rare.
Here is how the treatment in our Dalton dentist office works.
If you are grinding or clenching your teeth at night, the best way to treat the condition is to simply prevent it. In this scenario, we recommend that our patients wear a night guard while they sleep. These are created using an impression of your mouth so that the fit is perfect, and the guard will be comfortable while remaining in place as you sleep. The guards are made of durable plastic and by wearing it you can prevent your upper and lower teeth from touching each other, eliminating the possibility that they may grind or clench together. This essentially forces your jaw to remain in a relaxed position while you sleep. This way when you wake up you won't have any discomfort in your face or jaw and your risk of getting a headache will also be reduced. This solution, while simplistic, is incredibly effective. If you are someone that only gets headaches or a sore jaw when you are going through times of high stress, this solution can help you as well, and you can pick and choose when to wear it.
Warning –
If you have any dental restorations or have had extensive cosmetic dental work completed, you need to take extra precautions to ensure that you are not grinding or clenching your teeth at night. Otherwise, you could damage the restorations you have already paid for.
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