Do you wake up on almost a daily basis with tension headaches?

When suffering from chronic headaches patients do not always think of telling their dentist. If you experience daily headaches, especially if they occur in the morning after waking up, they may be related to your dental health. Patients with chronic headaches often grind their teeth in their sleep also known as bruxism. Left untreated bruxism can damage the health and alignment of the jaw.

Headaches can make it difficult to concentrate and can impact the overall quality of your life. Chronic headaches, jaw, ear or neck pack, or muscles spasms, you may have TMD. TMD refers to the disorder of the temporomandibular joint or the jaw joint. When the upper and lower jaw is not properly aligned or are damaged, patients often experience painful and sometimes debilitating symptoms.

Joe has saved my life. I had TMD and would have needed surgery. I owe everything to him. He did a beautiful job.
Sandy, Annapolis, MD

Bite Therapy

When the bite is not properly balanced, this is called malocclusion. Malocclusion causes the surrounding teeth and gums to sit off balance and creates tension and pain in the face, jaw neck, and even the upper back. A misaligned bite can compromise the health of the teeth and gums. patients who grind their teeth or have malocclusion are more prone to having broken or excessively worn down teeth.

Drs. Wooddell and Passaro offer comprehensive bite analysis and therapy for the treatment of bruxism and TMJ. We provide all of our patients with a thorough evaluation of their bite during their initial exam. We look for any signs of destabilization in your occlusion and work to diagnose the underlying cause of any secondary symptoms. Your dentist will work with you to build a personalized treatment plan that will help to bring alignment to the bite in order to prevent further damage.

We offer custom designed night guards to help protect patients from grinding their teeth during sleep. Many patients who experience daily headaches find almost overnight relief once they begin wearing their night guard. The night guard is designed to prevent the upper and lower jaw from grinding against one another. The teeth are protected from damage and the jaw is able to rest without tension during sleep.