Some headaches are linked to overworked jaw muscles, clenching, or TMJ problems. We evaluate those jaw and muscle contributors and work alongside your physician or neurologist, who continues to manage your headache care.
Tell us about your headaches. Our treatment coordinator will reach out the same business day.
Not all headaches are dental-related — but a recognizable pattern often points to overworked jaw and head muscles as a contributing source.
If several of these sound familiar, your headaches may have a muscular and bite-related component worth evaluating — evaluated alongside your physician's care.
The muscles that move your jaw and stabilize your head are powerful. When they're overloaded — often from clenching, an unbalanced bite, or a strained airway — that tension can radiate as headache pain.
Sometimes a jaw-muscle or clenching contributor hasn't been evaluated. When it is part of the picture, addressing it alongside your medical care may help some patients; results vary.
When evaluation shows a jaw-related component, we use conservative therapies aimed at jaw-muscle tension and coordination, and we coordinate with your physician.
PBM (photobiomodulation) laser therapy is a research-supported adjunct for tension and pain in overworked jaw and head muscles; results vary.
We share findings with your physician or neurologist, who continues to manage headache diagnosis and medication.
CMDI neuromuscular stabilization — and a stabilization appliance when indicated — addresses the underlying bite and muscle imbalance.
We evaluate jaw-related contributors to headache and use PBM laser therapy and CMDI stabilization when they fit. Patients travel to Lafayette from across Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, and Kentucky for this evaluation.
We look for the muscular and bite-related source instead of only managing symptoms.
A conservative, drug-free program centered on reducing jaw-muscle overload.
For out-of-town patients we group sessions efficiently so treatment fits fewer trips.
Some chronic headaches are related to dental and muscular factors — jaw muscle overactivity, clenching and grinding, bite imbalance, or airway issues during sleep. When headaches are linked to these factors, addressing them may help some patients; results vary. We evaluate whether yours have a jaw-related component and coordinate with your physician or neurologist.
Morning headaches, temple and tension-type headaches, and headaches that come with jaw soreness, clenching, or grinding are commonly connected to overworked jaw and head muscles. These muscles can become overloaded when the bite or airway is unstable.
When a jaw-related component is found, our non-surgical approach may include PBM laser therapy (a research-supported adjunct; results vary) for muscle tension and CMDI neuromuscular stabilization to retrain coordination. A stabilization appliance may be recommended in some cases. We don't treat migraine itself; your physician or neurologist manages headache diagnosis and medication.
No. We address the dental and muscular component of headaches and work alongside your physician's care — not in place of it. If your headaches need medical evaluation, we'll say so. Some patients find it helpful to address both.
It looks at a different piece: whether jaw muscles, clenching, or your bite contribute to your headaches. If they do, addressing them alongside your medical care may help; if they don't, we'll tell you. Results vary.
Request a consultation. We'll evaluate whether your headaches have a jaw-related component — and what options make sense alongside your physician's care.
Request a Consultation →About the doctor: Shane Cope, DDS, MSD — specialist in periodontics (Indiana University School of Dentistry) and in oral medicine and orofacial pain (University of Southern California).
Last reviewed October 2026
Highland Creek Family Dental's general dentists: Dr. Melinda Bodine, DDS (East Office) · Dr. Han Na Park (South Office).
Dr. Shane Cope, DDS, is a specialist in periodontics, oral medicine, and orofacial pain. Dental services on this site outside periodontics, oral medicine, and orofacial pain are provided by general dentists. Your right to a Good Faith Estimate.