Headaches & Migraines Westchester County, NY

Headaches can have many causes, making them difficult to diagnose correctly. If standard treatments aren’t working, your pain may be linked to TMJ disorder. At Westchester TMJ & Sleep, Dr. Mejia uses advanced diagnostics to determine whether TMJ is the source of your headaches and create a plan for relief.

You may have TMJ-related headaches if:

• Headaches worsen after jaw activity
• Current treatments aren’t effective
• You also have jaw or neck pain
• You notice clicking or popping sounds
• You experience ear ringing or vertigo

TMJ disorders can trigger several types of headaches, depending on how the jaw joints and surrounding muscles are affected. These headaches often overlap in symptoms, making diagnosis challenging. At Westchester TMJ & Sleep, Dr. Mejia identifies the source of your discomfort and provides targeted TMJ treatment for lasting relief.

Common TMJ-related headaches:

• Tension headaches from muscle strain
• Migraine headaches from nerve irritation
• Referred pain headaches from jaw imbalance

Tension headaches are the most common type linked to TMJ, often resulting from tense or overworked jaw muscles. These headaches create a steady, tightening pain that can feel like a band around both sides of the head and may last from hours to several days. Because the jaw muscles are among the strongest in the head, tension in them can radiate upward to the temples and behind the eyes, intensifying discomfort. In some cases, persistent tension headaches can even trigger migraines.

Migraines are intense headaches that often affect one side of the head and can last from hours to days. They may involve additional symptoms such as nausea, dizziness, or light sensitivity. Though their exact cause is unclear, research suggests a link between TMJ and migraines through the trigeminal nerve, which connects the jaw muscles and pain pathways in the head. Overworked or tense jaw muscles may irritate this nerve, triggering migraine episodes.

• Moderate to severe pain
• Nausea or vomiting
• Dizziness or light sensitivity
• Visual disturbances or “aura”
• Mood or energy changes before onset

Sometimes, TMJ can make it feel like you have a headache when your pain is actually someplace else. The mechanism for this is known as referred pain. In referred pain, your brain interprets pain in one part of the body as if it’s in another part.

Nerves don’t work exactly like wires that run from the body to the brain. It isn’t as if pain in a part of the body causes a light to come on in the control center of the brain. Instead, pain signals flow down your nerves almost like a river. They can flow together and blend, and your brain has to guess the origin of the signal based on other clues. It’s usually right, but sometimes it’s wrong. A well-known example is when a heart attack causes pain in your arm or jaw. Less well-known is when the brain interprets jaw pain as a headache.

Are your current headache treatments not working? Do you still get frequent–and possibly severe–headaches? Or are you looking for a way to control headaches without relying on medication with unpleasant side effects? If so, Westchester TMJ dentist Dr. Wanda Mejia might be able to help.

Please call (914) 594-6854 or use our online form to request an appointment at Westchester TMJ & Sleep in Mohegan Lake.