Migraines? Tension headaches? An LVI Dentist offers more than just a cosmetic solution

Sun Publications / February 2005

How frequently have you suffered from migraines, tension headaches, or sore neck and shoulder muscles over the last year? The last month, or even the last week? Surprisingly, the problem may be caused by your bite.

I often hear that stress from work, school, home, etc. is the cause of grinding and headaches. However, many people have more stress than others but never suffer any migraines or headaches. Why is that? And why do YOU have them? Though stress may induce the pain, there can be an underlying factor.

You may feel your bite is good because your teeth fit together when biting or chewing. But the driving force behind your bite, the chewing muscles, may not be "happy". This often results in stressed and fatigued muscles. These "unhappy" muscles will attempt to find a zone of "happiness" and push the lower jaw around resulting in grinding. This also can cause the temporal mandibular joint, or TMJ, to "pop" or "click". All these factors can lead to headaches and sore muscles. Unfortunately, medications only mask the problems, not solve them.

Some indicators that your bite may be the issue are: chipped and worn front teeth, especially the lower; a history of fractured teeth; root canals; and multiple crowns (caps). Or, when you bite on your back teeth, you don't see the lower front teeth. This is not due to old age. In fact, my 64 year old Dad has almost no wear on his teeth. After raising 5 kids, I know there was stress.

Fortunately, an LVI trained Dentist can not only identify an incorrect bite, but treat the symptoms while giving you the smile of your dreams. LVI is a post-graduate institute where they transition dentists from "old" dentistry to modern dentistry. From black fillings and black lines on "traditional" crowns to natural white fillings and all porcelain crowns and veneers. These advancements have not only changed people's lives cosmetically but functionally.

After seeing smile makeover shows on TV, you may wonder if they really change people's lives. The popularity of makeover shows speaks the importance of a smile. Your smile is the most important and most memorable feature when meeting people. My cosmetic patients quickly begin flashing their new smile. It instantly becomes part of them and they love to show it off. The porcelain veneers mimic natural teeth so well that their closest friends can't even tell. The effect on their personalities is almost magical.

What makes LVI stand apart is their teaching of neuromuscular dentistry. Through neuromuscular dentistry, we can treat problems of TMJ and other symptoms associated with your bite non-surgically. This is accomplished by measuring the "chewing" muscles and finding where the "happy" zone is. Typical nightguards do not measure the muscles and simply separate the teeth. Once we find the right position for the bite, we can maintain that position thru an orthotic and/or restoring the teeth. This will enable you to have a cosmetically enhancing smile but one that feels good and lasts a long time. In fact, many of my patients have reduced or eliminated the need for medications through this treatment, resulting in better long term health by decreasing the dependency upon them.

Advancements in Dentistry have been changing lives daily. It may just change yours.

This article was submitted by Ogden Dental
1767 Ogden Ave., Naperville, IL
Call: 630- 983-2600 for information.