According to experts, migraine is a very underdiagnosed condition. In the US, 6 percent of men and 15-18 percent of women experience migraine attacks. (Read Article Here) So called sinus headaches are often undiagnosed migraine. Migraine is a complex event mediated by the trigeminal nerve system. The current theory of migraine is that it is a disorder of “sensory modulation” of this system. Clenching or grinding your teeth at night can cause input into the system which may be more information than it can handle, increasing your chance for a migraine or tension headache.

A special type of guard called an NTI is approved by the FDA for prevention of pain from migraine as well as migraine associated tension-type headaches. For more information, please Click Here.  The guard was designed by Dr. Jim Boyd who has a long history of migraine and chronic daily headaches. To read his story, Click Here. 

Mendota Dental recently received a letter from one of her patients who wears the NTI. This patient had missed school on a regular basis due to migraine headaches and was taking a very powerful medication called Topomax. The patient is no longer taking any medication for migraine.

“You may want to know how I am doing with my headaches. Well, I haven’t had one in a year and a half. Life without my headaches has been great. I received perfect attendance as well as honor roll. Perfect attendance was a surprise because that has never happened in, well, forever. I believe that the NTI worked. I just have that feeling that the medications may have helped with the pain, but the NTI may have prevented them from coming back. I wear it every night and I haven’t missed school or important events in my high school years. Thank you for your help. You are a life saver!”

Another comment from one of our patients:

“I was really at a loss about what to do about the persistant headaches and neck and shoulder tension I was having. I never imagined the problem would be related to my teeth. Since I got the splint (NTI), the headaches are almost totally gone. It really was a life changer.”