If you’re suffering from frequent headaches or migraines, you’re likely ready to try anything to get them to stop! Maybe you have tried nearly everything and nothing seems to help. That’s where Center for TMJ & Sleep Apnea can help.

If you’re ready to finally live a headache- and migraine-free life, follow these three simple steps for a successful headache and migraine treatment.

man suffering from morning headache

Step 1: Rule Out The Cause

The first step to a successful headache and migraine treatment is ruling out the cause of them. Take a look at the following list to see what the most common causes of headaches and migraines are to know what you might be looking for.

  • Dehydration
  • Hormonal changes
  • Stress
  • Allergies
  • Cold or flu
  • Sinus infection
  • Exertion
  • Exercise
  • Diet
  • Weather changes
  • Caffeine withdrawal
  • Lack of sleep
  • Alcohol intake
  • Sleep Apnea
  • TMJ

One way to rule out the cause of your frequent headaches is to keep a daily journal. Make a record of everything you eat and drink, approximately how many hours you slept the night before, and how much water you drank. Be sure to also include any medications you take, any activities you did, what the weather was like, and if you have any other symptoms.

Over time, you might be able to find a correlation between your headaches and something that happened during the day. For some people, simply keeping a journal can help them rule out the cause of their headaches but that’s not always the case for everyone.

Whether you determine the cause of your headaches and migraines or not, your next step is to visit the right specialist.

Step 2: Visit the Right Specialist

If you have a hunch that your headaches are caused by your birth control, your best bet is to talk it over with your doctor and possibly switch to a different prescription. For some people, you might even need to visit a specialist if you realized you got a headache whenever you exercised too hard. As a result, you stopped exerting yourself too much and your headaches went away.

However, if you’re unable to pinpoint the cause of your headaches, your best bet is to start visiting specialists to rule out the cause. One of the most misdiagnosed causes of headaches and migraines is TMJ disorder. The temporomandibular joint disorder is a painful condition caused by an imbalance in the jaw joints and surrounding muscles and tissue. The imbalance causes the jaw joints to become strained which then puts a strain on the adjacent muscles that span across the head and down the neck. Headaches caused by TMJ are a result of this muscle strain or referred pain.

Nearly 40% of people who suffer from TMJ also suffer from frequent headaches and migraines. Some signs you suffer from TMJ include:

  • Clicking or popping in the jaw
  • Jaw, neck, back, and facial pain
  • Tinnitus (ringing in the ears)
  • Earache or ear stuffiness
  • Worn, chipped, or cracked teeth
  • Limited jaw mobility
  • Tingling or numbness in fingers or hands
  • Insomnia
  • Clenching or grinding teeth

If you suffer from any of these symptoms in addition to regular headaches and migraines, you can benefit from visiting a TMJ specialist. Our TMJ dentists in Lee’s Summit, Dr. Larry Pribyl and Dr. Jim Kleoppel will examine your jaw joints using advanced dental technology to determine if you have TMJ. If they diagnose you, they will begin outlining a customized TMJ treatment plan to bring you relief.

If TMJ doesn’t happen to be the cause of your migraines, we encourage you to keep seeing different specialists until you determine the cause so you can get a treatment plan that works.

Step 3: Get Treatment

Getting treatment doesn’t mean taking ibuprofen and laying in a dark room until your headaches go away. It means taking action to actually prevent your headaches from occurring in the first place.

If TMJ is the cause of your headaches, we will reduce your headaches using a series of treatments. This might include the use of oral appliance therapy, trigger point injections, Rezzimax therapy, ALF appliances, orthodontics, or restorative dentistry. Every patient is different. However, we will help reduce the number of headaches you experience with a drug-free headache treatment that works for you.

Get Headache and Migraine Treatment in Lee’s Summit, MO

If you’re tired of suffering through one headache and migraine after another, something’s got to change. Take charge of your life and get a headache and migraine treatment that actually works. Please contact Center for TMJ & Sleep Apnea to schedule a consultation with our TMJ dentists in Lee’s Summit, MO by calling (816) 795-1000. You’re just a few steps away from living a headache-free life.