doggone,

this is posted on the today's MSN website. Though it does Not address the issue of certain medications as a cause of carries (cavities). It does provide something else to think about when considering Dental Situations. The article goes like this,

"Taking a Bite out of Headaches
Is your migraine related to your bite?

By Kelly James-Enger
Special to MSN

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As researchers learn more about migraines, they're discovering that a number of things can trigger them — including certain foods, stress and even poor posture. If you suffer from migraines, you may also want to consider whether they are triggered by a problem with your jaw or bite.

You've probably heard of TMJ, but you may not know what it is. TMJ refers to the temporomandibular joint, the hinge joint on the sides of your head where your lower jawbone joins the temporal bone of your skull. A TMJ disorder originates from this spot and can trigger migraines.

If you are a migraine sufferer who also experiences pain in your jaw or around your ears, it may be a TMJ problem that's aggravating your migraine. Often people don't associate headaches with dental problems and look for other causes, says dentist Peter DeRose, who practices in Buffalo, N.Y. But a problem with the TMJ — or the muscles or neuromuscular system in this area — can lead to headaches and migraines.

The Link
Many people with TMJ problems clench and grind their teeth at night, and awaken with a sore jaw — and possibly a migraine as well. The reason appears to be that the sensory nerve that transmits signals from the TMJ is linked with the part of the brain-stem center that is involved in migraine pain, says Dr. Fred Frietag, associate director of the Diamond Headache Clinic in Chicago.

Yet the relationship between jaw pain and migraines isn't an absolute cause-and-effect situation, says dentist Steven Graff-Radford, co-director of the Pain Center at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. "If you have headaches and you treat the bite, you will see a modification in the frequency of headaches," he says. But because researchers tend to lump different kinds of headaches — like sinus, tension and migraine — together, it's difficult to determine why the headaches are improving. It may be due to treating the TMJ problem or to other factors such as the placebo effect of seeing a doctor, says Graff-Radford.

It is clear that a TMJ disorder that causes inflammation in the jaw joint can serve as a potential trigger for migraine sufferers. Yet an abnormality in your bite alone may not cause migraines. "With population studies, there are millions of people who have abnormalities in their bites and don't get headaches," says Graff-Radford. "So therefore there is not enough evidence to suggest that fixing the bite will directly affect the migraine headache."

Diagnosing the problem
If you suspect you have a TMJ problem that may be linked to your migraines, your dentist should examine your bite for signs like tooth wear or chipping, says DeRose. You may also have pain in the jaw, near your ears, or that radiates up the side of your head.

Even if you don't have these symptoms, your doctor should rule out a potential TMJ trigger. "If you have migraines, the doctor should examine the jaw joint," says Graff-Radford. "If there's a positive jaw joint finding it should be addressed to reduce the frequency of headaches," To diagnose a TMJ disorder, a person must meet three out of four criteria — limited range of motion, pain when the jaw joint is examined, joint noise like popping or cracking, and functional pain, or pain upon chewing. Some people with TMJ find that wearing a device called an "anterior deprogrammer," or mouth guard that keeps the back teeth separated, reduces night grinding and clenching, and lessens jaw soreness.

Check it out
Don't rule out a TMJ or dental problem as a source or trigger of your migraines, says DeRose. If you do have one, addressing it may in fact reduce the number of migraines you have. "Anytime you have a headache — whether it's migraine or other forms of headache — you can aggravate or trigger that headache with what we call afferent [nerve] stimulation, whether it's coming from the neck or the jaw joint or the sinuses or any other structure," says Graff-Radford. "Therefore if you see an abnormality in those areas, treatment of those areas can reduce the frequency of headaches."

Yet he adds that it's important that your doctor determine what type of head pain you're experiencing in addition to diagnosing a TMJ problem to properly treat you. "You don't only want to treat the headache by addressing the jaw," says Graff-Radford. "If it's migraine, you also want to use acute migraine therapy."

Kelly James-Enger is a writer specializing in health, fitness and nutrition, and co-author of "Small Changes, Big Results" (Clarkson Potter/Random House, February, 2005) and other books. She owns BodyWise Consulting, which shares practical, real-life fitness, nutrition and wellness information with a variety of audiences."

Though, instead of using a pacifier, they mention using the following for grinding of teeth. "Some people with TMJ find that wearing a device called an "anterior deprogrammer," or mouth guard that keeps the back teeth separated, reduces night grinding and clenching, and lessens jaw soreness."

Hope that helps,

Snickers