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Headaches can come from many sources—migraine, tension, illness, eye strain, medication, sleep problems and more. But in some people, pain in the jaw joints or chewing muscles can cause or contribute to headaches, particularly around the temples.
These conditions are known as temporomandibular disorders, or TMDs. The temporomandibular joints, commonly called the TMJs, are the joints located just in front of each ear that connect your lower jaw to your skull.
So how can you tell whether your headache may be related to your jaw?
One of the strongest clues is whether your familiar headache changes or gets worse when you chew, clench or grind your teeth, open your mouth, yawn, or otherwise use your jaw. Headaches associated with TMD also commonly occur alongside jaw pain, tenderness in the chewing muscles, painful clicking, stiffness or limited jaw movement.
Those symptoms do not prove that TMD is the cause, however. Migraine, tension-type headache and TMD can overlap, and some people have more than one condition at the same time.
How Can Your Jaw Cause a Headache?
TMD is not one single disease. The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research describes TMDs as a group of more than 30 conditions affecting the jaw joints, the muscles used for chewing and surrounding tissues. The recognized categories include disorders of the joints, disorders of the chewing muscles and headaches associated with a TMD.
The muscles involved in chewing extend into areas around the temples and sides of the head. The temporalis muscle, for example, is a large chewing muscle located on the side of the skull.
When a painful TMD involves these muscles or the jaw joint, pain can sometimes be felt beyond the jaw itself.
The International Classification of Headache Disorders recognizes “headache attributed to temporomandibular disorder” as a distinct secondary headache diagnosis. These headaches are often felt in the temple, in front of the ear or around the chewing muscles.
What Does a TMJ-Related Headache Feel Like?
There is no single sensation that identifies a jaw-related headache.
Instead, clinicians look at patterns.
A headache may deserve evaluation for a possible TMD contribution when you notice several of the following together:
- Headache or pressure around one or both temples
- Jaw pain or facial tenderness
- Pain that increases while chewing
- Headaches that change when you clench or grind your teeth
- Pain with yawning or opening the mouth widely
- Jaw stiffness or limited opening
- Painful clicking, popping or grinding in the jaw
- Tenderness in the muscles around your temples or cheeks
- Morning jaw soreness or evidence of nighttime teeth grinding
One particularly useful clue is whether jaw activity changes the same headache you normally experience.
Clinical research used to develop diagnostic criteria for TMD-related headaches found that temple headaches altered by jaw movement, chewing or clenching—and headaches reproduced by examining the temporalis muscle or moving the jaw—were useful indicators of a headache associated with TMD.
TMJ Headache vs. Migraine: How Can You Tell?
This can be difficult because the conditions can overlap.
A TMD-related headache is more suggestive when the pain has a clear relationship with jaw use. Chewing, clenching, grinding or moving the jaw may make the headache worse, and jaw or chewing-muscle tenderness is often present.
Migraine is a neurological disorder and may involve throbbing or pulsing pain, nausea or vomiting, and sensitivity to light, sound or smells. Some people also experience visual or sensory symptoms known as aura.
But this is not an either-or situation.
Research has found an association between painful TMD and primary headache disorders, including migraine and tension-type headache. That means a patient can have migraine and TMD at the same time, rather than one condition necessarily explaining every headache.
If you have migraine symptoms, jaw symptoms or both, it is important not to assume that treating one automatically addresses the other.
Can Clenching or Grinding Your Teeth Cause Headaches?
Jaw clenching and teeth grinding—collectively known as bruxism—may contribute to jaw-muscle soreness and headaches in some people.
Some people clench while awake, particularly during periods of concentration or stress. Others grind or clench during sleep and may not realize they are doing it.
Signs that bruxism may be worth discussing with your dentist include:
- Waking with a sore or tired jaw
- Tooth wear or flattened chewing surfaces
- Chipped or cracked teeth
- Tender chewing muscles
- A partner hearing grinding during sleep
- Morning temple discomfort or headaches
However, having a morning headache does not automatically mean you grind your teeth, and bruxism itself can have multiple contributing factors.
A dental examination can look for tooth wear and other signs of grinding while also evaluating the jaw and chewing muscles.
Does Jaw Clicking Mean You Have TMD?
Not necessarily.
Jaw sounds are common, and the NIDCR specifically notes that TMJ sounds without pain are common and usually do not require treatment.
A painless click by itself is therefore very different from a jaw that clicks while also causing pain, locking, restricted movement or difficulty chewing.
If the clicking is new, painful or accompanied by changes in jaw function, it is worth bringing up during an examination.
How Is a Jaw-Related Headache Evaluated?
There is no single test that can determine the cause of every headache.
For a possible TMD, a dentist or healthcare professional may ask when the headache occurs, where you feel it, whether chewing or jaw movement changes it and whether you clench or grind your teeth.
An examination may include evaluating:
- Areas of tenderness in the jaw and chewing muscles
- Jaw range of motion
- Whether movement reproduces your familiar pain
- Pain or tenderness around the jaw joints
- Jaw sounds
- Tooth wear or signs of grinding
- Your dental and medical history
Imaging may sometimes be appropriate, but it is not necessary for every patient. The NIDCR notes that diagnosis generally involves a history and physical examination, with imaging used when clinically indicated.
Glen Park Dental provides TMJ/TMD evaluations in San Francisco, and the practice has a dedicated TMJ and neuromuscular dentistry service for patients experiencing jaw and facial symptoms.
How Are TMD-Related Headaches Treated?
Treatment depends on what is actually causing the jaw pain.
Importantly, TMD treatment should generally start conservatively. Many TMD symptoms improve with time, and the NIDCR recommends trying simple, reversible approaches before treatments that permanently alter the teeth, bite or jaw joints.
Depending on the diagnosis, initial care may include measures such as temporarily choosing softer foods, reducing gum chewing and clenching habits, applying heat or cold, gentle jaw exercises, physical therapy or short-term medications when appropriate.
What About a Night Guard?
If you grind or clench your teeth, a dentist may recommend an oral appliance.
A custom mouth guard can be useful for protecting teeth from the effects of grinding, and Glen Park Dental offers custom appliances for patients with bruxism.
However, a night guard should not be presented as a guaranteed cure for TMD or headaches. The NIDCR notes that evidence about how well intraoral appliances relieve TMD pain remains limited. If an appliance is recommended for TMD, it should not be designed to permanently change the bite, and patients should contact their provider if wearing it causes additional pain.
When Is a Headache Probably Not Something to Handle at the Dentist?
Headaches have many possible causes, and recurring or unusual headaches sometimes require evaluation by a physician or other medical professional.
Seek urgent medical attention for symptoms such as a sudden and extremely severe headache, or a headache accompanied by weakness or numbness, confusion, difficulty speaking, seizures, double vision, loss of consciousness, fever with a stiff neck, or one that occurs after a significant head injury. A major change in your usual headache pattern should also be medically evaluated.
A dental TMD evaluation is most relevant when headaches occur alongside jaw symptoms or appear to change consistently with jaw activity.
Frequently Asked Questions About TMJ and Headaches
- Where does a TMJ headache usually hurt?
- TMD-related headaches frequently involve the temple region and may occur on one or both sides. Pain can also occur around the jaw, in front of the ear or within the chewing muscles. Location alone, however, cannot diagnose the cause of a headache.
- Can TMJ cause headaches every day?
- A painful TMD can become chronic and may be associated with recurring headaches, but daily headaches have many potential causes. Frequent or persistent headaches should be evaluated rather than automatically attributed to the jaw.
- Why does my jaw hurt when I have a headache?
- Jaw pain and headaches can occur together for several reasons. TMD can contribute to head pain, migraine can coexist with TMD, and clenching or grinding may strain the chewing muscles. An examination can help determine whether the symptoms appear connected.
- Can teeth grinding cause morning headaches?
- Clenching or grinding during sleep may contribute to morning jaw soreness, muscle tenderness and headaches in some patients. A dentist can look for additional signs of bruxism, such as tooth wear or damage.
- Can TMJ problems cause migraines?
- TMD and migraine are associated and frequently occur together, but it is not accurate to say that every migraine is caused by the jaw. Migraine is a neurological disorder that may require separate medical diagnosis and treatment.
Could Your Jaw Be Contributing to Your Headaches?
If your headaches repeatedly appear alongside jaw pain, clenching, grinding, painful clicking, facial tenderness or discomfort while chewing, it may be worth having your jaw evaluated.
The goal is not to assume that every headache is a dental problem. It is to determine whether the jaw joints or chewing muscles are contributing to the symptoms—and to recognize when another medical explanation needs to be investigated.
If your recurring headaches seem to change when you chew, clench or move your jaw, call (415) 799-3900 to schedule an evaluation and discuss whether TMD or bruxism may be contributing to your symptoms.