Bruxism and headache, a functional problem of the mouth

Do you suffer from headaches? You may be suffering from a functional mouth problem. Bruxism consists of clenching and rubbing your teeth during the day or at night.

Among the functions of the mouth are chewing, drinking, speaking, laughing, tasting, kissing, sucking. All of these involve a muscular, skeletal, articular, vascular and nervous system. But can your dentist relate functional problems of the mouth to headaches?

The only function where tooth contact occurs is in chewing, which does not exceed 40 minutes a day. The chewing force is programmed by our central nervous system depending on the consistency of the food we chew for the first time. Both the chewing force and the movement are learned and are recorded for the future.

Unfortunately there are movements that are not performed during the chewing function, we call them parafunctional movements whose main exponent is called bruxism, which consists of clenching and rubbing the teeth during the day or at night.

What are the causes of Bruxism?

Bruxism is caused by an elevated masticatory muscular activity that originates a maximum masticatory force for hours, outside of meals.

Today we know that the cause of bruxism is not only dental but also involves the autonomic nervous system (sympathetic) which causes increased chewing activity both buccal and cervical.

It can cause muscular problems (cranio-mandibular and cranio-cervical), articular problems (cranio-mandibular and cranio-cervical) and dental wear (loss of height of the lower third of the face, loss of dental anatomy, loss of centered mandibular position).

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Bruxism, symptoms

This excess of muscular activity can produce neurological symptoms such as headaches, vertigo, tinnitus. The latest articles reviewed indicate that bruxists clench or grind their teeth 365 days a year for several hours (day and night).

The international classification of headaches (cephaleas) includes in its section nº 11 headaches secondary to problems of the mouth, cervical, ocular, paranasal sinuses, ear, temporomandibular joint. Therefore, when faced with a chronic headache, it should be ruled out, by means of an examination, whether the stomatological function is physiological or pathological.

How do I know if I suffer from Bruxism?

If you have chronic headaches and they do not improve with medication you should ask yourself some questions:

  • Have you had a masticatory function study?
  • Do you have tooth wear?
  • Are you a mouth breather?
  • Do you have sleep apneas?
  • Do you sleep poorly?
  • Are you tired?
  • Have you ever had dizziness?

If you answered yes to three or more questions, your headache may be related to a malfunction of the mouth.

In the functional treatment of the mouth, the team includes neurologists, ENT specialists, physiotherapists, dentists and stomatologists. It performs 3D scanning, postural studies, computerized masticatory force recording, as high-level tests that complement the diagnoses with great accuracy.