In life, headaches can be terrible to deal with. You might even try to tough them out or even walk them off. But sometimes they just keep coming back for more; and sometimes they get increasingly worse.

Don’t ignore your headaches. They very well may be a signal from your body that something is wrong. If you’ve been experiencing frequent headaches you may wonder what is causing them.

Maybe you start at your doctor’s office. After a lot of back and forth, you just leave with a prescription for painkillers. But wouldn’t it be nice to treat the root cause of many headaches? Headaches are often caused by problems with your temporomandibular joint (TMJ).

Let’s take some time to look at TMJ disorders. At the Plano Smile Studio in Plano, TX, we have years of experience in treating TMJ disorders. We want to help get you back on your fight, and be headache free. In today’s blog post we’re going to look at TMJ treatments as well as describe some treatments that are available for them.

Signs You May Be Suffering from a TMJ Disorder

Headaches linked with TMJ disorders often manifest with certain symptoms. Well these post is in no way exhaustive, we want to describe some of these symptoms to you. That way, you can decide if you think you may be at risk for a TMJ disorder.

Headaches caused by by TMJ disorder often include pain in or around the ear. Sometimes this pain may even begin to spreading to the face. You may even feel neck or shoulder aches at times.

Soreness in your jaw is also indicative of a TMJ disorder. If your jaw muscles feel tender, take note. Your jaw may even seem to get stuck, lock in place, or go out of place, ouch. It may also make a sort of clicking or popping noise when you open or close your mouth.

Finally, if you have difficulty opening your mouth you may have a TMJ disorder. This symptom can also include pain when you yawn, chew, or just open your mouth widely.

Treating Your TMJ Disorder

If you have had any of the symptoms described above, we encourage you to pick on the phone and call our office. We can schedule an appointment to screen you for TMJ disorders.

During your screening, we will look at a your jaw and examine your teeth. We may also take images of your jaw to help us discover what’s happening inside your jaw joint. The screening is fairly brief, and if we discover signs of a TMJ disorder, we can begin treatment for TMJ disorders.
We can start with a conservative treatment approach. This involves teaching you how to rest your jaw effectively. This simple step can save your TMJ joint from extreme movements and sometime relieve your pain and headaches.

If simple treatments are insufficient, we can also take a few more aggressive steps to treat your TMJ disorders. Before we begin any of these measures, we will advise of you of their pros and cons. At Plano Smile Studio in Plano, TX, we believe an informed patient is a happy patient.

We may set you up with a night guard. Sometimes TMJ disorders are brought on my clenching or grinding your teeth at night while you sleep. In these cases, a night guard can be custom-fitted to your teeth. A night guard relieves much of the pain associated with TMJ disorders, while helping you get a better night’s sleep.

Lastly, we also offer surgical options for extreme cases of TMJ disorder. Will advise you about these procedures during your appointment; we generally consider jaw surgery to be the last possible option and will try other methods first.

Make An Appointment

If you’re ready to rid yourself of constant headaches, then schedule an appointment at our office. We can screen you for TMJ disorders and discover if they might be the cause of your headaches. Click here to schedule an appointment at the Plano Smile Studio in Plano, TX.