Could Morning Caffeine Headaches Be a Sign of TMJ?
By Shiraz Asif | Published on May 25, 2011 | 0 Comments
Every morning, thousands of men and women across the country wake up with headaches that they blame on a lack of caffeine. According to Dr. Shiraz Asif of Anderson Lake Dental, however, the real blame for these morning time pains could actually be temporomandibular joint disorder, or TMJ.
As the Eden Prairie cosmetic dentist explains, people who suffer from TMJ often grind their teeth and clench their jaws throughout the nighttime hours. Most people suffer from TMJ without even realizing it, since the clenching and grinding is happening while they are sleeping.
However, one symptom of TMJ that most often presents itself in the early morning hours immediately after waking up is a severe headache. If a person is waking up in the morning and feeling a headache, a soreness inside of his temples, or any type of facial pain, then the cause of that discomfort could be TMJ.
One way to tell whether a particular headache is being caused by TMJ or something else is by measuring how long it lasts. If a headache persists in the early morning but goes away later in the day, then Dr. Asif is a cosmetic dentist in Eden Prairie who says that is typically a sign that a patient has been grinding his teeth during the night.
At his office in Eden Prairie, Dr. Asif says many people wake up with headaches they think are related to a lack of coffee or a caffeine addiction. These people usually say things like, “Once I drink my coffee, I’ll be fine,” when in reality what they need is an intervention that stops their nighttime clenching and grinding and prevents their TMJ from getting worse.
Once a patient visits Dr. Asif’s office and sits down for an exam, the telltale signs and symptoms of TMJ are usually present along the tops of his teeth. Dr. Asif says people who suffer from grinding tend to have short, fat teeth that have eroded along the tops. These visual clues, in combination with a description of morning headaches or soreness, almost always mean that a person has TMJ.
The symptoms of TMJ will go away if people stop grinding, however Dr. Asif is a cosmetic dentist in Eden Prairie who is careful to point out that nighttime clenchers and grinders cannot help what they’re doing when they’re not awake. Because of that, Dr. Asif says the only real solution is for the sufferer to wear a night guard or a mouthpiece while he sleeps at night to prevent any more grinding from occurring.
*Disclaimer: The information on this website is not intended to substitute for the medical expertise and advice of your healthcare provider. We encourage you to discuss any decisions about treatment or care with an appropriate healthcare provider.