Migraine and associated headaches such as Tension headaches and muscle contraction headaches are currently being treated by injecting Botox into the muscles, with good results.
Botox was originally designed to treat crossed eyes and other muscle issues. In the last few years, it has been used by plastic surgeons and dermatologists to produce temporary paralysis of the facial muscle to help smooth wrinkles around the eyes and foreheads. Many patients have reported relief from their headaches as a side effect of this treatment. This resulted in Doctors using Botox specifically for treating headaches, and getting good results. However, Botox needs to be redone every 3-6 months as the muscles regain their tone and the headaches come back.
Botox works by paralyzing the muscles in a non contracted state, essentially forcing them to relax. There is a way to relax the muscles to this state without the use of injections.
A bad bite or malocclusion will eventually lead to an imbalance in the relationship of the upper jaw to the lower jaw. This will result in an unnatural, strained position for the muscles of the jaw. The tight, painful, contracted muscles of the jaw result in pain in the muscles of the head, causing headaches.
Using state-of-the-art neuromuscular dentistry, we determine if the symptoms you are experiencing are the result of a bad bite. We then go thru a series of steps to not only relieve your symptoms, but to also correct the cause of your symptoms. Treatment usually begins with the relieve of muscle spasms and the associated pain. We use a unit called a Myo-monitor which helps relax the patient’ s muscles. It is a low frequency T.E.N.S. (Transcutaneous Electrical Neural Stimulation)unit. The Myo-monitor stimulates the Trigeminal Nerve and The Facial nerve using a very mild electrical impulse. This TENSing accomplishes 3 things. First, It pumps waste metabolites and lactic acid away from the stressed muscles. Second, it increases the blood flow to the muscle, which increases the oxygen, glucose, and energy to the muscle itself. Finally, it allows the jaw to relax into its ideal position. Tensing usually takes 45- 60 minutes depending on how bad a patients symptom are and how tight their muscles are.. After TENSing there is much less activity and the muscle are much “happier” .
After the muscles are relaxed we start the next phase of treatment which is bite stabilization. We fabricate a temporary appliance, known as as an orthotic, which is worn on the teeth. The orthotic keeps the muscles in the "happy" position which was established with the use of the Tens unit. Once you are stable, we can move on to the next step, which involves correcting the bite to keep the jaws in this comfortable position.
There are essentially four ways to correct your bite to this comfortable position. First, if the bite is not badly misaligned, we can use a process known as coronoplasty or equilibration. This involves adjusting the enamel to correct your bite. It is a relatively easy procedure. Second, we can create a more permanent orthotic. This is a removable appliance that fits over the back teeth and is designed to maintain the comfortable biting position. The third option is to completely rebuild the bite using porcelain crowns and veneers. A full mouth reconstruction is a permanent solution that will maintain the muscles "happy" position. The fourth option depends on the health of the teeth. Sometimes it is possible to use orthodontic treatment to move the teeth into a position that is comfortable for the muscles.