Albertville, AL
The American Migraine Foundation estimates that more than 39 million people in the United States suffer from migraines. If you or someone you love deals with migraines, you know how painful, debilitations and disruptive to your daily life that these headaches can be. You may not know, however, that the cause of migraines could be solved by… your dentist? Read on to see how migraines and dental health relate, and how your Albertville neuromuscular dentists at Wall Street Dentistry can help.
Learn about migraines
A migraine is a type of headache but it’s not just a headache. A migraine usually develops on one side of the head and can cause throbbing pain or a pulsing sensation. The specific symptoms of a migraine vary from person to person, but one commonality is debilitating pain that makes it difficult to function.
What causes migraines?
Identifying the cause of migraines is a diagnostic riddle that persists to this day. Both a hereditary and environmental factor have been identified through medical research. However, if you’ve been living with migraines and treatment only is addressing the symptoms of the headaches, but doing nothing to alleviate how often migraines occur, then your headaches actually could be caused by temporomandibular joint disorder. Also known as TMJ disorder or TMD, this disorder occurs when the temporomandibular joint – a small, round joint that connects the jaw to the skull on either side of the head – enters a dysfunctional state.
How do migraines and TMJ disorder relate?
When TMJ disorder develops, it spreads to affect the jaw joints, as well as the surrounding musculature and nerves. One nerve often impacted by TMJ disorder is the trigeminal nerve. This nerve transmits more sensory information than any other neural pathway in the body, including the spinal cord. When the trigeminal nerve becomes aggravated, irritated or compressed, it can send signals of pain to the brain that trigger painful tension headaches. These headaches often are misdiagnosed as migraines. Learn more information here about the difference between migraines and headaches caused by TMJ disorder.
So, how can a dentist help with my headaches?
When it comes to identifying a case of TMJ disorder, a neuromuscular dentist is the best qualified medical professional to provide a diagnosis. Neuromuscular dentistry is a specialized field that requires intensive post-graduate education and training following the completion of dental school. Both of our dentists, Dr. Jon Renfroe and Dr. Josh Conley, studied at the Las Vegas Institute for Advanced Dental Studies, considered the preeminent institution in North America for postgraduate dental education.
If a neuromuscular dentist identifies you suffer from TMJ disorder, treatment entails addressing the root cause of the ailment: namely, whatever is making the temporomandibular joint malfunction. Wall Street Dentistry offers several treatment methods for TMJ disorder. Once a successful methodology is determined, this treatment alleviates the pressure on the temporomandibular joint and any subsequent issues created by TMJ disorder. That includes any painful headaches caused by the disorder.
TMJ Treatment for Headaches in Albertville, Boaz and Guntersville in Alabama
If you’re living with frequently occurring painful headaches, or you’ve been diagnosed with migraines but struggled to find lasting relief, you owe it to yourself to be screened by a neuromuscular dentist for TMJ disorder. Drs. Jon Renfroe and Josh Conley and their team at Wall Street Dentistry are here to help. To schedule a consultation, call our office (256) 878-0525 or visit us online today.