San Francisco, Marin, and Oakland, CA
Many people who suffer from migraines don’t think much about how they start, only how to get rid of these debilitating headaches. While pain management is certainly important, understanding a little bit of what causes migraines may actually provide insight on how to treat them.
What are migraines?
Migraines are known to be vascular headaches. Meaning, they are caused by blood vessel irregularities and swollen vessels that put pressure on the brain. When the swelling of these blood vessels occurs, it is often due to abnormal stimuli of the trigeminal nerve.
The trigeminal nerve is a major muscle that is responsible for eight different muscles of the face and jaws. These muscles are primarily responsible for chewing, biting, and swallowing. The trigeminal nerve becomes over stimulated when temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders are present in a patient. In which case, the jaw struggles to reposition, and you may be unable to find a comfortable resting position for your jaw. Then, teeth are misaligned, causing grinding and pain.
What is the trigeminal nerve?
How does this nerve connect to your brain? The trigeminal nerve consists of three branches, the mandibular, maxillary, and ophthalmic. The mandibular branch extends to the lower jaw from the chin to the ear. The maxillary branch extends to the upper jaw including the area of the face from beneath the nose to under the eye. The ophthalmic branch carries sensory data from the eyes, nose, and scalp as it extends towards the back of the head. Any source of pain in the mouth, face, or head, could potentially over stimulate the trigeminal nerve, causing tension headaches.
The connection between migraines and TMJ disorder
Research in dentistry has proven a connection between migraines and TMJ disorders, for some patients. When the jaw is not aligned properly, this adds strain and stress to the muscles and nerves of the jaw joint and face. If the TMJ disorder is left untreated, this pain can begin to radiate through the trigeminal nerve and has been linked to causing migraines. Although not all suffers from migraines are plagued with a TMJ disorder, it certainly does not hurt to explore this realm of possibilities.
Treating migraines
Migraine sufferers respond differently to treatment, which points to the simple fact that there are various causes of migraine headaches. If you suffer from migraines and have not felt relief from treatment by your physician, consider consulting Glen Park Dental Care.
Some migraine sufferers have found relief by simple TMJ treatments. TMJ therapy is a drug-free method of treating migraines that also poses virtually zero side effects. TMJ treatments also help relieve neck pain, tinnitus and help prevent excessive wear or damage to your teeth. There is no need to suffer in silence; TMJ treatment could be the answer to relieving your migraines.
To learn more about treating your migraine headaches with convenient treatment, and preventing them from occurring again, contact Glen Park Dental by calling (415) 585-1500.
Glen Park Dental serves patients in Marin, Oakland, and San Francisco, California.
