What Does a Bruxism Headache Feel Like? (2024)

FAQs

What Does a Bruxism Headache Feel Like? ›

What kind of headache does bruxism cause? Tension headaches often result from bruxism and can continue for hours or even days. Tension headaches feel like a steady, dull aching or pressure on both sides of the head.

The actions involved in a bruxism episode exhaust the body. The muscles, the tendons and the joints all feel overworked. The tension often becomes dull headaches that don't go away.

If you notice tooth pain, especially when biting down or ingesting hot or cold foods or beverages, it may be a sign that a dental issue is triggering your headache. Facial Pain or Pressure: Dental-related headaches can also cause facial pain or pressure.

A history of jaw discomfort or fatigue upon awakening in the morning along with a finding of excessive tooth wear or enlarged jaw muscles is very suggestive of sleep bruxism. In addition, frequently awakening with a headache in the morning may be due to bruxism.

The headache can last from 4 to 72 hours, according to the Mayo Clinic. There is a well-established association between migraine headaches and teeth grinding.

A person's TMJ muscles span their jaw, cheeks, and the side of their head. Bruxism can overwork these muscles to the point of throbbing headache pain, and in some instances, migraines and neck pain. TMJ can trigger confusing referred pain in the form of headaches, neck pain, shoulder aches, and even toothaches.

Most often, though, the pain is felt in the jaw muscles, which are achy and tense. Remember, jaw muscles extend throughout the facial area, all the way up to your temples, so jaw pain is often described as face pain. Sometimes people confuse it for sinus pain.

These headaches may feel like any other headache or like a tension headache, but they tend to occur and recur in one or more regions of the head and/or face. You may also feel facial tightness/pain, or jaw tightness/pain/clicking. You might also experience a change in your bite.

Alternate between heat and cold. Gentle massages to your temples can help relax your head, face, and jaw muscles to relieve tension and alleviate dental headaches. You can also use an ice-pack to reduce pain, and a heating pad to further relax the muscles.

Trigeminal neuralgia is a localized peripheral neuropathy caused by the irritation of the fifth cranial nerve (the trigeminal nerve). It is characterized by severe intermittent facial pain, which usually involves one side of the face. The pain is typical of a throbbing nature [3].

What nerves are affected in bruxism? ›

Bruxism directly involves the teeth and masticatory muscles; therefore, the trigeminal nerve, whose central nuclei include the mesencephalic trigeminal nucleus (MTN), the main sensory nucleus and the trigeminal spinal nucleus [2].

There are two main reasons why grinding one's teeth causes toothache. The first is that it puts stress on the teeth and jaw. This strain can cause the patient to develop aches and pains in the face, neck and jaw. The second reason why bruxism causes toothache is because of the damage that it can cause to your teeth.

Bruxism is clenching, grinding, or gnashing your teeth, either while you're awake or asleep. Most people probably grind and clench their teeth from time to time. Occasional teeth grinding doesn't usually cause harm, but when it happens regularly, you can damage your teeth.

Not surprisingly, many of us also grind or clench our teeth while we sleep. Indeed, experts estimate that around 40 million people suffer from excessive teeth grinding, also known as bruxism. Bruxism is more than a quirky habit. The condition can cause jaw pain, headaches, and even migraines.

Since chronic clenching and grinding put so much pressure on the muscles, tissues, teeth, and other structures around the jaw, symptoms can be felt long after the grinding stops and the sun rises. A few of the most common bruxism symptoms include the following: Jaw pain and stiffness.

Introduction. A cervicogenic headache (CGH) presents as unilateral pain that starts in the neck and is referred from bony structures or soft tissues of the neck. [1] It is a common chronic and recurrent headache that usually starts after neck movement. It usually accompanies a reduced range of motion (ROM) of the neck.

For starters, pain that originates in your jaw will not cause symptoms that accompany migraine headaches, like nausea and sensitivity to light, sounds, or smells. Symptoms that are unique to TMJ and don't occur when your pain is a true headache include: Painless clicking or popping when opening your mouth.

Conclusions: Sleep bruxism was associated with vitamin D deficiency and low consumption of calcium and was also associated with increased scores of anxiety and depression. Further investigations should be performed to check if vitamin D and calcium supplementation could relieve sleep bruxism.

Many cases of bruxism are mild and may not require treatment; however, severe bruxism can lead to damaged teeth, jaw pain or tiredness, and headache.