Headaches

When you have a headache you may not immediately think that it could be related to your teeth. Yet many patients have come to us having suffered from headaches for years, often having visited specialists, had CAT scans and consulted their opticians for eye checks, and ingested lots of pain killers. When all along the problem was dental in origin due to a problem with their bite which puts unwanted stress on surrounding muscles. Curing patients of their long term headaches is an extremely rewarding experience for us.

Symptoms that you may experience:

Headaches
Jaw pain and tenderness
Neck and shoulder pain
Sinus problems
Teeth grinding and clenching

Often the problem can be very simply cured but sometimes we may provide you with a specially designed plastic splint which is worn on your teeth normally over night.Sometimes restorative work is required. (crowns, fillings etc) to re-establish a new bite.

If you suffer from any of the above problems please contact us for advice by filling out the contact form or call the practice on 01274 581550.

I have had Bruxism for about 12 years now and suffered with related symptoms including headaches, jaw ache, stiff neck and shoulders and "foggy" head on waking. This is caused by clenching of my jaw whilst I'm asleep. I'm not sure why this started and have had various professional opinions about the cause including a knock to the head, extensive orthodontic work and stress.

In the past I have tried almost everything to help with this condition starting with a referral to a dental specialist at the hospital who told me I had an irregular jaw opening and closing motion and that I should practice opening and closing it properly!

My dentist at the time made me a rubber splint device to wear at night which cushioned the grinding and made the headaches less intense but didn't stop the problem. In fact I chewed through my first one in just 6 weeks!

I did lots of research on the internet and looked particularly at holistic approaches as many of these said they could help. Initially consulting a homeopath, she then referred me to a cranio-sacral osteopath who works specifically with the bones and muscles in your head. After just 6 sessions I was pretty much cured and had stopped grinding. I was so happy and felt like a different person. Unfortunately after six months the condition returned so I of course went back to see the same osteopath for treatment. Alas, the miracle cure wasn't to be. She couldn't help me this time so I then went on to try reiki, massage, acupuncture, hypnotherapy and even wearing a swimming nose peg so that I had to sleep with my mouth open!

Unfortunately none of these things had any great effect so I accepted my fate and managed by trying to keep stress levels down, having regular massages and wearing my rubber splint.

I came upon Dr Muirhead entirely by chance as I was looking for a new dentist in the area. When he mentioned that he was a bruxism specialist I was surprised but not particularly excited as I didn't think he would be able to do anything to help.

He said he could make me a splint to stop me from clenching my teeth at night. I of course didn't believe it would ever work.

The way that the splint works is that it re-aligns your jaw back to its correct position so it's not continually fighting to get back there. Also, when you are wearing it you will find it much harder to grind or clench. It felt quite uncomfortable to wear for the first few days as it was pushing my jaw into another position but now I'm used to it, I don't even notice it.

I would say that my condition has been 90% improved. I don't suffer from any of the symptoms I used to apart from the occasional stiff shoulders. The headaches and lack of clarity in a morning are completely gone and I'm no longer causing damage to my teeth. I wear the splint every night and can really notice the difference if I don't. I find that I need to get it adjusted every 6-12 months as I do wear it down a little bit.

I would recommend seeing Mr Muirhead for this treatment as it's really helped me and is certainly worth every penny!