Patients suffering from migraines find it challenging to determine the reason for the unexpected throbbing in the head. While many presume that stress causes migraines, other links, such as tooth pain, are also responsible.
While migraines are not the cause of tooth pain or vice versa, the conditions indicate a more profound condition that needs evaluation by the
dentist in northwest Calgary, who can diagnose and treat dental-related
migraines.
Are You Experiencing a Migraine?
If you aren’t sure about whether you are experiencing a headache or a migraine, the optimal way to identify it is to consider the symptoms of migraines. People experiencing migraines are generally affected by multiple symptoms, including nausea, dizziness, facial tingling, and sensitivity to light and sound. You cannot consider chronic migraines as bad headaches because they aren’t. In contrast, their extreme symptoms can result in missing school, work, and significant life events.
Ways to Prevent Headaches and Migraines
If you are trying to determine how to prevent head aches, the optimal technique is to find a calm environment, take a break from anything you are involved in and sip a caffeinated drink. You can apply hot or cold compresses on your head and neck to relieve pain. However, drinking too many caffeinated beverages can also lead to withdrawal headaches, affecting migraines.
Besides the above, you must ensure you sleep well because migraines make getting a good night’s rest challenging, and the headaches are triggered by imbalanced sleep. Therefore you must establish regular sleep hours and unwind at the end of the day with anything that helps relaxation and promotes sleep. It would help if you also watched your eating and drinking habits before bedtime. Heavy meals, alcohol, caffeine, and nicotine interfere with sleep.
You must also manage stress because it is associated with migraines. Avoiding everyday stress might seem challenging, but you must keep it under control to help manage your migraines. In addition, you must ensure you simplify your life and manage your time effectively by taking breaks if you feel overwhelmed and enjoying yourself with any activity that helps naturally combat stress.
When to See a Doctor or Dentist for Your Migraines
If you think your migraines result from dental problems, it helps to see the northwest Calgary dentist for an evaluation to know whether you have dental issues causing them.
Many dental conditions are responsible for causing toothaches and migraines. Some of them include the following:
Bruxism
Teeth grinding and clenching result from bruxism which is also responsible for severe migraines because you put pressure on your teeth. Grinding and clenching your teeth appears in some people only when sleeping. Therefore if you awaken with significant jaw pain or a migraine, it indicates you clench and grind your teeth when sleeping. Children also clench and grind their teeth but, fortunately, outgrow the behaviour after the emergence of their permanent teeth.
If you are affected by bruxism, your dentist can fit you with a customized night guard to help alleviate your nighttime behaviour. Unfortunately, if you don’t find relief from the night guard, informing your dentist about the problem is the optimal way to overcome the habit and your migraines.
Temporomandibular Joint Disorders
TMJ disorders are also responsible for severe migraines, a tender jaw, and clicking on popping sounds when opening and closing the mouth. While you can try conservative treatments to overcome TMJ disorders, you find it beneficial to seek help from the dentist if the discomfort doesn’t reduce.
Toothaches
Toothaches, when left untreated, can escalate, causing severe pain. Your dentist will initially treat the condition if the problem stems from a gum or cavity issue. However, if you still experience migraines with tooth pain, you must seek additional treatments. Getting your teeth frequently examined by your dentist helps avoid early signs of tooth decay, enabling you to resolve the problem before they aggravate.
NTI Treatments Helpful for Dental Migraines
If you are affected by dental-related migraines, you can receive
Calgary migraine therapy, where the dentist uses NTI (nociceptive trigeminal inhibition) therapies to treat dental-related migraines. This treatment is FDA approved and helps stop headaches, stiff necks, sensitive teeth, and sore jaw.
NTI permits relaxation of the nerves in your face to help them return to normal function alleviating multiple issues, which are jaw and teeth alignment that results in painful migraines. During your appointment with the specialist, the dental team system creates a device for your unique situation to help you find relief from the problem. If you seek this therapy, you benefit by getting a drug-free treatment for headache and migraine pain, reducing clenching intensity and preventing damage to your teeth.
If you want to learn more about
migraine therapy from the Calgary specialist, kindly visit Toothworks by arranging a consultation. The professional can help you determine whether you are experiencing dental migraines and provide you with treatment for the condition.