Ever wonder why when we’re stressed we get headaches? Did you ever think your teeth play a role? Neither did I. However, chronic clenching of your teeth can be a major factor in the cause of headaches, even migraines. Why? When we’re stressed, we often find some muscle to tense. Most of the time, we take it out on our teeth. This is different from grinding your teeth. Putting your teeth in a position where they mesh well and clenching puts a tremendous amount of pressure on your teeth. To do so, some serious muscle flexing is at work.
One of the major players is the temporalis muscle. This is a large muscle on the side of your head that is responsible for closing the jaw. If you put your hands on the side of your head just above the temples and back a little and clench your teeth, you can feel this muscle tighten. When it’s chronically flexed, it gets tired, sore and wham, headache time. People who wake with migraine headaches in the morning often have had a serious clenching session while they slept. Let’s not forget daytime clenching either. Driving in traffic, dealing with difficult people, heavy concentration, or any of life’s stressors can cause one to clench during the day.
So how do you fix the problem? Recognizing that you are clenching is half the battle. I suggest that periodically throughout the day ask yourself “are my teeth even touching?” If they are, you might hum softly to yourself or practice a mantra, “lips together teeth apart, lips together, teeth apart…” But what about nighttime? For this, a proper mouth guard fabricated by a dentist that doesn’t allow your back teeth to touch is the way to go. It’s not the same as a guard just to prevent grinding. The back teeth cannot touch at all. If you can only clench on the front teeth, that temporalis muscle can’t fire nearly as well and the muscles get a chance to relax and relief is on the way. This non-pharmacological, non-surgical, non-invasive treatment can be a real pain saver. For additional information, check out this website: www.headacheprevention.com
