Headaches that settle at the temples, often alongside a tired jaw, can leave you wondering whether your teeth are involved. From Rockwood, a facial muscle pain assessment looks at the dental and jaw side of things and works alongside your family doctor where needed.
Some people describe it as a band of pressure along the sides of the head. Others feel it in the temples and cheeks at the end of the day, along with a jaw that seems tired from doing very little. The muscles you chew with reach up toward the temples, so a dental connection is worth considering. It is not the only possibility, though.
Headaches and facial aching have many causes, and a dentist only sees part of the picture. During the assessment, we look at the teeth and gums, the way your jaw opens and moves, and the chewing muscles, and we take a careful history. If the findings suggest something outside the mouth and jaw, or if your symptoms need medical review, we will say so plainly.
Before the visit, think about when the headaches and aching happen, how they relate to each other, and what you have tried. Bring any notes from your doctor. We will explain what the dental and jaw findings support and what they do not, and help you work out what to discuss next and with whom.
Pressing on the temples to check they are sore will not add much. It is more helpful to remember how a few recent episodes started, how they felt and what else was happening that day.
Note whether the pain is there on waking, builds over the day, or follows meals, long talks or concentration. Say whether it sits on one side or both and how long it lasts. A link between jaw use and headaches can guide questions, but it does not prove the jaw is the cause.
Mention trouble opening fully, catching, locking, painful jaw movement, or a tooth that is sore on biting. Include any injury or recent dental work. These details help decide whether the examination should focus on more than muscle tenderness.
Share what your doctor has said about the headaches, any medicines you take for them, and appliances, exercises or physiotherapy you have tried. Describe what helped and what did not. Other pain conditions and general health may be important, even when the jaw seems involved.
Headaches with jaw or facial pain do not automatically mean a temporomandibular disorder. Some headache patterns need medical assessment, and other explanations may need to be considered before dental or muscle-focused care.
A dental assessment cannot explain every headache, but it can clarify whether the teeth, jaw or chewing muscles are likely contributors. Ask which findings support a jaw-muscle link and which do not. A straightforward account of what remains uncertain is better than overstating what the dental side can explain, especially when your doctor is also involved.
Agree on what improvement would mean in daily life. Fewer afternoons with temple pain, finishing a meal without jaw fatigue, or a morning without pressure at the sides of your head are all sensible markers. A review can then follow those changes, rather than depending only on how tender a muscle feels when pressed.
Patient information: NIDCR — a graduated approach to temporomandibular disorder care
The dentist can assess the relevant teeth, tissues, jaw movement and muscle tenderness at one visit. Ask whether a dental finding helps explain the headaches or simply exists alongside them. Tooth wear or an uneven bite is not automatic evidence of the cause.
If a jaw-muscle problem seems to play a part, discuss reversible measures and how their effect on both the aching and the headaches will be checked. Be clear on what is advised, what to hold off on, and when to get in touch. Bigger treatment is not necessarily a better beginning.
Headache patterns often need a physician’s input, and some facial pain is best assessed by an orofacial pain professional. Ask what the dental findings mean for that conversation and what notes to share. Coordinated care avoids each provider guessing in isolation.
Rarely does one finding explain a headache or facial ache. The dentist combines your history with the examination and explains whether a medical opinion or more assessment should come before any dental treatment.
Tell us where the pain is, what it feels like, when it comes and what you are usually doing. Mention any spreading, visual changes, or brief, shock-like episodes. Notes help, but please do not delay getting advice while you build a perfect diary.
We discuss medicines, including any for headaches, health conditions, injuries and investigations your doctor has arranged. Bring any appliance you use. Let us know about earlier dental treatment that changed how your teeth meet or seemed to make things worse.
Guided by your history, the dentist may check jaw opening and movement and tenderness in the chewing muscles, including those near the temples. Tell us if anything hurts. Imaging is considered only when it would answer a relevant question.
You learn what the dental and jaw findings support, what is uncertain, and whether a reversible trial, medical review or referral is sensible. Agree when to follow up and what changes, such as a new or very different headache, should prompt earlier contact.
What you are advised depends on the findings. Ask for a clear explanation of each step and what to do if it seems to increase jaw pain or headaches.
Note meaningful changes in headaches, jaw comfort, eating and sleep, and anything you tried. Brief notes a few times a week are enough. Bring them to your review, and share them with your doctor if they are also following the headaches.
Avoid strong stretching, deep repeated pressure on the temples or jaw, and exercises meant for another diagnosis. Ask whether a technique fits your situation and how to do it gently. If an advised step increases pain, stop and seek guidance.
Take headache and other medicines only as your doctor or pharmacist directs, and do not change regular prescriptions yourself. If a guard causes pain or leaves your bite feeling changed for long, stop using it and contact the clinician who made it.
These general answers help you prepare. Your own headaches and facial aching need a proper history and examination before anyone can say how they connect.
Patient information: NIDCR — why different facial pain patterns need appropriate diagnosis
Reach our Bronte Street practice by phone to book a facial muscle pain assessment. Bring notes from your doctor, a short record of headaches and jaw aching, and a list of what you have tried, so we can review the findings and next steps together.
The source of facial pain or headaches, suitable care, imaging, referral and fees depend on assessment. A dental assessment cannot promise that the jaw is behind your headaches, or that any appliance or treatment will relieve them.
