Paul Plascyk, General Dentist
Dental Appliances will not eliminate primary headaches. Primary headaches include:
Dental appliances can treat secomdary headaches caused by Occluso-Muscular Disorder.
There is a theory that dental appliances that decrease activity of the jaw muscles may decrease the frequency of migraine headaches. Whether this is true or not, dental appliances will not eliminate migraine headache.
The following article is from www.headache-help.org. It is good information for headache sufferers.
Dental Appliances and Headache
(Reprinted with permission from the American Council for
Headache Education (ACHE) by Alan Stiles, DMD)
Everyone who suffers from headaches desires improvement, whether this means taking
less medication, experiencing fewer side effects, obtaining pain relief more rapidly, or
making fewer visits to the doctor. Most patients with headaches continue to keep their
eyes and ears open for new and better therapies that could be the answer to their long-
lasting battle against the next headache attack.
Unfortunately for headache sufferers, many gimmicks exist that prey upon their hopes for
better treatment. Dental appliances that claim efficacy in treating all sorts of head, neck
or facial pain have been around for years. The headache sufferer needs to be armed with
enough knowledge to make an informed decision about whether these appliances are
gimmicks or legitimate treatment options.
Within the past few years, a group of dental appliances has been marketed for headache
sufferers. With countless appliances in existance, singling out one or two would be unfair.
These appliances are generally known as an anterior deprogrammer, an anterior tooth
separating appliance, an anterior bite plate, a muscle deprogramming device, and a
removable anterior jig appliance. They are designed to fit on the upper front teeth and
mechanically prohibit the upper and lower back teeth from contacting. This type of
appliance was first introduced in the mid 1900s as the Lucia jig. It has since been modified
numerous times and remarketed in a variety of ways. It was first used in reconstructive
dentistry to help establish a bite position to which restorative work could be done, and it is
used for this same purpose today. This appliance has gained recognition in treating pain
through clever marketing campaigns that exaggerate their efficacy not through rigorous
scientific testing.
Manufacturers market these appliances to both patients and doctors. Attractively designed
websites lure patients with enticing claims of effectiveness. The manufacturers claim that
their appliances help patients who "have head, neck or facial pain, have been diagnosed with
migraine, tension-type or cluster headache, have sore or tight jaws in the morning, have to take
medications repeatedly for their headaches, have been under treatment by their doctor without
long term relief, have sinus-or allergy-related headaches, have eye strain and have had their
eyes checked". If the appliances worked for all those ailments, then almost everyone reading
this article would be a candidate for this treatment.
The makers of the dental appliances also target the doctors who could recommend the appliances
to their patients. They promote the products as "practice builders", in other words as a way to
increase revenues for their practice. The manufacturers may supply instructional videos, CD
ROMs, forms that can be filled out and placed in the patients' charts, training for staff, and free
billing information. Some even supply incentive plans wherein the physician is rewarded with
discounts or money back for the number of appliances delivered or for the number of completed
forms faxed back to the company.
Based on limited evidence that oral appliances can be effective for reducing the incidence of
migraine headaches, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the marketing of
some of these appliances for diagnosing and even treating headaches. Warning! The approval
process for medical devices (which included dental appliances) is entirely different from that
required for medications. Before approving a medication, the FDA requires multiple trials in
animals and in humans. With medical devices, however, the approval process is much less
stringent, and new devices that are similar to previously approved devices can apply for the
same FDA approval. Most of the appliances being marketed for headaches are categorized
as "jaw repositioning devices", and a wide variety of appliances carry this FDA approval.
Although the mechanisms of migraine are not fully understood, it is believed that migraine is
an inherited disorder of the brain that produces a sensitive central nervous system that some-
times becomes over-reactive and results in a migraine attack. An area of the brainstem known
as "the migraine generator" has been identified as being crucial in initiating a migraine attack.
This area is a relay station for information passing to and from the face and head and the brain.
It is believed that too much activity passing through this area may trigger a migraine attack.
One of the goals of a migraine preventive agent or therapy is to reduce the activity in this area
of the brain. Muscular activity of the head (including the muscles of the jaw) may increase the
activity through this area. Dental appliances reduce muscular activity and, therefore, may reduce
some of the activity through the generator. Muscular activity is only one of many signals that are
carried through this area, and although decreasing excessive muscular activity may have a
positive effect on headache frequency, it is certainly not a cure.
The claim that any device (or medication) is a headache cure-all should be taken with a grain of
salt. When properly used, dental appliances can be part of an integrated headache management
approach. The reasons for use, the realistic expectations, and the potential risks of any appliance
should be discussed thoroughly with your headache doctors.