At Orofacial Pain and Sleep Center we recognize the connection between Temporomandibular disorders (TMD) and Headaches.
We treat Headache attributed to TMD, Tension type Headaches (TTH), migraines, cluster headaches, and Trigeminal Autonomic Cephalalgias(TAC’s)
Yes, preventive headache treatment is necessary if you experience four or more headaches a month, particularly for migraines. These are considered frequent, debilitating attacks. In many cases patients struggle with acute medication overuse. Therefore preventive headache treatment is needed and aims to reduce the frequency, severity, and duration of headaches, and improve quality of life.
Headache prophylaxis includes modalities to reduce headache days or the severity of the headaches by taking medications or doing other interventions even when no headache is present. These include Beta Blockers, antidepressants, anticonvulsants, CGRP inhibitors Botox injections and lifestyle modifications.
Botox is administered via a series of injections in the forehead, temples, back of the head, neck and shoulders, typically involving 31 injections in total, and the effects can last for about 10-12 weeks. It takes less than 10 mins and the injections are well tolerated.
While Botox significantly reduces the headache symptoms in many patients it is not a cure. Botox injections typically need to be administered every 3 months.
Botox, a botulinum toxin works by blocking the release of neurotransmitters and neuropeptides that are involved in transmitting pain signals from the brain to the nerves and muscles in the head and face. While Botox for headaches is a therapeutic treatment and targets specific muscles, it will have a cosmetic effect in the areas treated.
