TMJ Headaches - TMJ Dentist Roseville

Sacramento, Roseville, Rocklin, Folsom and Citrus Heights, California

Chronic headaches affect millions of people in the United States every year. Many people treat these headaches with pain medications that serve to dull the discomfort, but fail to treat the underlying problem.

According to the American Academy of Craniofacial Pain, one of the leading causes of chronic headaches is temporomandibular joint disorder (TMJ/TMD). Some doctors and even neurologists do not often detect TMJ because they lack training in neuromuscular dentistry.

Dr. Miller, a board-certified TMJ/TMD dentist, can help you detect this common cause of painful headaches and migraines, and provide you with a treatment option to solve the underlying problem and put and end to your headaches once and for all.

How TMJ Causes Headaches

Your trigeminal nerve is responsible for feeding sensation to your face, including your jaw, lips, teeth, tongue, palate, eyes, and sinus. It is also one of the most powerful and complex nerves in the human body. Accounting for over 40 percent of the sensations processed by your brain, the trigeminal nerve is connected to the facial, hypoglossal, and vegus nerves.

These nerves control sensation to your head, neck, and throat. A disruption in any of these nerves causes all four to produce pain sensations. Because these four nerves are related to your temporomandibular joint, any disorder of this joint can cause muscle strain, and disrupt their function. The end result is one of the most common, yet least diagnosed causes of chronic, debilitating headaches.

Diagnosing TMJ Headaches

The first step in diagnosing headaches caused by TMJ/TMD is to determine what type of headaches you are suffering from. Tension headaches, brought about by strain on the muscles, can cause pain in tight bands around the head. Additional indications of tension headaches are throbbing temples, dizziness, and difficulties concentrating.

Migraine headaches are characterized by throbbing pain in one particular location. Other indications of migraines include nausea, visual disturbances, and sensitivity to noise, smell, and light.

Both migraine and tension headaches can last for a number of days, and interfere with your work, family, and social life. Determining what type of headache you are suffering from will assist Dr. Miller in customizing a TMD treatment option that will best treat your disorder, and reduce future instances of pain.

If you live in or around Sacramento, Roseville, Rocklin, Lincoln, Stockton, or Modesto, California and believe you may be suffering from TMJ/TMD, please contact David B. Miller, D.D.S. at Advanced Dental Concepts to schedule a free consultation today.