Grinding or clenching your teeth, impacted wisdom teeth, or misaligned teeth CAN make you vulnerable to headaches. But combine them with chronic STRESS, and you've REALLY got a headache.Stress can TRIGGER the contraction of your neck and facial muscles. This can cause nerves in the muscles to fire rapidly , putting the muscles in spasm. This added tension, PLUS existing tension from underlying oral issues, radiates to the head causing a tension headache. If tooth grinding is a cause your headaches, the simplest fix is to have your dentist make you a custom-fitted mouth guard. The ones you can buy at the drugstore and mold at home can actually cause more harm than good. A well-made mouth guard will keep your jaw joint, also called the temporomandibular or TMJ joint, from being overworked and causing painful tension in nearby muscles. The t mouth guard will also keep you from clenching your teeth and from grinding the protective enamel coating off of your teeth. When the enamel is worn away, the sensitive underlying dentin is exposed, making it easier for hot or cold drinks and foods, and even chewing pressure, to irritate the tooth's nerves and trigger a headache. If you have misaligned teeth, or your bite is off, an orthodontist, periodontist or prosthodontist should take a look, since you may need braces to correct the malocclusion and remedy your headaches. To find out if crowded or impacted wisdom teeth ARE contributing to your headaches, your dentist will X-ray those teeth. If that's the problem, the simplest cure is to remove the troublesome tooth.Talk to your dentist if you think one of these factors is triggering your headaches. There ARE solutions, both to your headache and in managing chronic stress complications. For more on how to keep your oral health in shape, check out other videos in this series.