Headaches and migraines are bad enough, but add jaw pain on top of that and our patients are bound to be miserable. To make matters worse, frequent migraines can actually increase a patient’s risk for developing temporomandibular disorder (TMD), according to a recent study published in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics. As a result, patients will not only experience migraines, but jaw pain, clicking and even difficulty with chewing.

The connection between migraines and jaw pain

In the study, researchers found that people who experience migraines on 15 or more days of the month were three times more likely to exhibit severe symptoms of TMD. Previous studies suggested there was a link between migraines and TMD, but this current study is actually the first of its kind to study migraine frequency and jaw pain severity.

Of the 84 women in their early mid-thirties that were observed, 32 had episodic migraines and 32 had no history of migraines. TMD symptoms were observed in 54 percent of the women with no history of migraines, 80 of those with episodic migraines and all of the women with chronic migraines.

This is an interesting study because we might not place enough emphasis on this link between migraines and TMD. As dentists, we need to look at all aspects of conditions. If your patients suffer from migraines, it is important to also determine if they have TMD for the best treatment options.