Dr. Dean Schweitzer of Valencia Headache Care encourages individuals to pinpoint the causes of their chronic headache pain, which are often the effects of an imbalance in a person’s bite.

“You really need to investigate as to why you’re having the pain and then fix that instead of just masking the pain,” said Schweitzer. “If you’re having chronic headache pain, it’s almost always going to be an imbalance in your biting forces.”

Schweitzer explained that an imbalance in a person’s bite causes “a dysfunction of the muscular structure of” their face, which then leads to the chronic pain.

Having an unbalanced bite usually has no connection with the alignment of an individual’s teeth, but some form of trauma experienced while growing up, according to Schweitzer.

“You could have the most perfectly arranged teeth and still have an imbalance,” he said. “Most of our balances come from some kind of micro- or macro-trauma, (like) when you were a kid you … fell off your bike, or sometimes just going through orthodontics or having your wisdom teeth out.”

Related: Valencia Headache Care Team Treats Chronic Headaches, Migraines At The Source

A variety of tests are used to determine whether or not an individual has an imbalance in their biting forces, one of them being a sensor which the patient bites down on.

“All you do is bite on a sensor for us, and our computer shows us every point of contact that you have in your bite and what the forces are in that particular point,” explained Schweitzer. “We know what the balances should be, so we can easily determine instantly whether you have a biting force imbalance.”

Schweitzer described the process as “easy and comfortable,” noting that it typically takes around 10 seconds.

Another test to determine the causes of chronic headache pain is a range of motion analysis, which focuses on the movements of the patient’s neck and jaw muscles.

“We do a range of motion analysis … of your musculature,” said Schweitzer. “We want to assess, what kind of range of motion do you have with all of your neck muscles and your opening and closing jaw muscles?”

The healthcare professionals at Valencia Heachache Care can also conduct a trigger point exam to find the sensitive areas on an individual’s face that could be the cause of headache pain.

“We do a trigger point exam because most people with chronic pain and headache don’t realize it, but they have trigger points, which means that when we touch certain parts of their face or neck or head, it’s painful,” explained Schweitzer. “That helps guide us as to where the problem is coming from.”

Schweitzer encourages those who experience chronic headache pain to seek treatment and find the cause of the pain rather than simply masking it with pain medications, as many people do.

“Some people with migraines get acular oras or they get blind spots in their eyes or they can get nauseated and vomit, and it can be very debilitating,” said Schweitzer. “Pain is not normal — our bodies aren’t normally experiencing pain, so when we experience pain, it’s telling us we have a problem.”

Dr. Dean Schweitzer, D.D.S., is the founder and clinical director of Valencia Headache and Sleep Treatment Center, also known as Valencia Headache Care. Those suffering from chronic headaches, migraines, jaw clicking and pain, tooth grinding, ringing in the ears and vertigo can contact center officials for a free headache consultation to determine if the source of their pain is related to an imbalance in their bite. Treatment for dental foundation imbalances is non-invasive, non-surgical and requires absolutely no medication.

Valencia Headache and Sleep Treatment Center

Valencia Headache Care

23838 Valencia Blvd #301

Valencia, CA 91355

661-287-9667