Dr. Katz, iHATEheadaches Blog

I had not seen Donna, who was now 50 years old, for more than six years. On examination Donna showed evidence of multiple caries and moderate periodontal disease. She had four bicuspids missing,her teeth were crooked and crowded and it was obvious from the four bicuspid extractions that she had had braces at a young age. Her main concern was that she was very dissatisfied with how her teeth looked. She could not open her mouth very wide and made a lot of noise when opening and closing her mouth but was not concerned about it..

"Do you also have shoulder pain", I asked. she told me her shoulders always hurt especially on the left side. "What about your neck?" Her neck had been hurting for as long as she could remember. ' But that's because I sit in front of a computer screen all day. "Well, how about headaches, do you get them often?" I get them a lot especially when I'm tense around my temples and over my eyes. "Do your fingers tingle too." Yes she said, but how did you know that and what does all this have to do with my teeth. "

"Good question", I answered. Maybe your symptoms are all related to your posture, work habits, level of tension and migraines. But you have certain symptoms that can also come form another source, the relationship of your upper to your lower jaw, the relationship of how your teeth come together (occlusion) and the effect the position of your teeth and jaws have on your neck, shoulder and jaw muscles.From the noise your jaws were making it sounds like you jaws (TMJoints)have taken a beating. That popping noise and grinding feeling has to do with your jaw
fitting in the groove of your skull. Like worn shock absorbers or worn brakes , your jaw has become poorly aligned and could just be the cause of your headaches , neck pain and even tingling in your hands. Just like realigning your tires and getting new brakes your car will function better and last longer.

Your teeth are not isolated a vacuum that's your mouth. Your teeth are part of a system in your body and changes in that system effects other parts of your body. From your teeth to your neck and shoulders to your ears hands and back.

Your body likes to be in balance and when one of its parts goes out of balance
it lets you know by sending you pain signals. After a while those sharp pains become low grade chronic pain and only become acute if an additional factor suddenly reminds the body that there is still an imbalance and it making you hurt. Worn and broken teeth, shifting teeth, painful jaw joints, bad bite, limit opening and closing are all things that might be causing or contributing to severe head pain.

So when I examined Donna again, I told her I was not only looking at her teeth but that I was observing signs and symptoms that might be telling me that she may have more problems than broken fillings and an unsightly smile that might need addressing.
She was definitely impressed and surprised that I was paying attention to so many thing besides just her teeth. "When I look at you, I told her, I see more than just teeth". I see someone who wants to be as healthy as she can be."