Maybe not–it’s good to be skeptical. But if you look at the evidence, it may convince you: the testimonials of countless people, including my wife and me, prove this is possible. What am I talking about? Physiologic dentistry.
What Is Physiologic Dentistry?
Physiologic dentistry, also known as neuromuscular dentistry, is the science of aligning the lower jaw in relation to the upper jaw while creating a balanced and relaxed musculature of the head and neck in the process, without any surgery.
The lower jaw, also called the mandible, is the bone that not only enables us to eat and speak, but it also has a major impact on our breathing, sleeping, and balance. It can often be the source of headaches and neck pain if it’s in the wrong position.
Headaches affect all of us from time to time, but are you one of those who is affected by them every day? Do you wake up with headaches and suffer from them all day? Have you seen multiple medical specialists, you were told there is nothing wrong, and all they offered were meds? Well I can tell you that you are not alone, that there is hope and a solution for you. The answer is physiologic dentistry.
How Physiologic Dentistry Resolves Headaches
You may still wonder how physiologic dentistry can resolve your pain without medication. The secret is understanding that nothing in your body is separate. This is also why we treat TMJ in our dental office. All your muscles work as a team, and what affects one muscle affects all the other muscles in the team. When one muscle is stressed, it passes that stress on to the others. Soreness spreads from one to another, sometimes manifesting far from the source of the stress.
Your jaw muscles are the largest muscles in your head, so when they’re not functioning properly, everything in your head and neck can be thrown off balance. You can experience tension headaches, sore neck, and upper back pain–for starters.
And there’s one more wrinkle: the nerve that commands the jaw muscles is the trigeminal nerve, which is the trigger point for migraines. When your jaw muscles are stressed, it can contribute to an overload in this vital nerve, setting off migraines. Branches of the trigeminal nerves even wind under and around the jaw muscles, so when these muscles are tense, they can also trigger migraines by pressuring the nerves. Some doctors want to treat this by cutting away those muscles or using drugs to relax them. But physiologic dentistry has a better solution.
All these headaches come from muscle tension, right? So why not just remove the tension? By helping your jaw find a relaxed position, we can reduce tension in your jaw muscles, head, and neck. We can reduce your headaches and migraines–without drugs!
Is Physiologic Dentistry Right for You?
Next time, we’ll talk more about your airway and how physiologic dentistry can improve your sleep and overall health.
But if you already suspect that dental problems may be causing your headaches, why suffer another day? Please call (614) 848-5001 today for an appointment at the Firouzian Dentistry.
