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Anyone diagnosed with TMJ?

Hi all - my headache specialist suggested I see with a neuromuscular dentist to see if my TMJ is causing my headaches. All of mine are on my right side and that's where my neck pain is and where my TMJ is a bigger issue.

So I met with the doctor a couple of weeks ago and they did some testing to show that my right-side bite is where nearly all my pressure is going. That would correlate with all of the pain I'm having on that side of my head. The recommended treatment is a bite splint to get my jaw back into it's happy place and evaluate in 6 months to see if I can scale back on the splint or make the permanent change with braces.

He told me most people who see him come in with headaches, and I actually spoke with his assistant who is going through this treatment for that reason.

So, I'm hopeful it will work (i get fitted for the splint Tuesday) but was also curious if anyone else has looked into this as a cause of their headaches?

  1. I have a lot of things going on with my migraines. I have also had TMJ since I was a kid. I wear a bite splint and have for 20+ years. My migraines are worse on my worse TMJ side, but of course by the time it's a migraine, the pain is kind of everywhere. You whack a mole one place that's the "worst" and you discover it's actually everywhere on your head, just worst in one spot. But my worst spot is kind of on top of my head.

    I do grind my teeth at night, even with the splint. Botox seems to help me on the weeks it's most active.

    1. Also, if you know you have a TMJ issue, would advise you to think about what you eat (you probably already do this) and pare back anything you need to bite off or chew hard. Obviously no chewing gum.

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