Dr Perkins has had remarkable success in drastically reducing serious headaches and migraines with his specialized TMJ Balanced Oral Appliance. His basic technique of treatment by symptoms has shown a 14 year success rate of reducing headaches (at least 90% of the time). These headaches are actually a major symptom of an underlying sleep disorder. Having treated patients for jaw joint or TMJ for 35 years he was able to make the connection of these jaw joint problems and the night time clinching or grinding produced by an interruption in the sleep cycle. Many of his patients do not realize they have a sleep problem until they have undergone a thorough sleep symptom screening (PSSP), and a comprehensive oral exam which will usually uncover the not so obvious cause of the problem. Dr Perkins is very passionate about helping relieve these headaches without drugs or medication. A young female patient commented after wearing her appliance for 2 weeks, that it was the first 2 weeks in her life without a single migraine. Headaches have been one of the first symptoms to get better with most patients. Many patients have daily headaches and migraines, and the daily headaches are the first to stop. Most of Dr Perkins patients have already tried various plastic bite splints or night guards with a short term success, but these type appliances used by some dentists are treating the symptoms rather than the cause,and the success is usually short-lived!
Poor sleep and the stress cause hormone induced inflammation throughout the body which is the real culprit in the deterioration of health. Inflammation is why many of the patients seen for these problems are taking anti- inflammatory medications along with antidepressants and strong pain medications. It is very important to understand that most of these patients DO NOT HAVE sleep apnea(which means that they totally stop breathing for a longer period of time), but rather a very short interruption in the sleep cycle which causes a Fight of Flight or STRESS response. It is also not understood that these sleep disorders start early in childhood probably from birth and just get worse and worse throughout life.The disease progresses so slow and is so insidious that very few people realize they have a problem, for example, until they start having headaches or migraines or other serious health issues. By recognizing these patients early and treating the cause of the problem sooner the disease process is slowed preventing many of the more severe long term consequences such as high blood pressure, diabetes, severe acid reflux, depression,and heart disease.
Dr Perkins’ treatment is totally concerned with getting to the cause of the problem rather than just treating the many symptoms. The Perkins Sleep Symptom Profile (PSSP) is a comprehensive list of these symptoms he will evaluate you at your initial exam. Most every patient will see improvement of multiple symptoms, not just the headaches.
If you are interested in a different approach to your headaches or want to try a treatment that could reduce your dependance on strong medications you should consider an initial exam with Dr Perkins. If you would like to speak with him regarding your problem please complete and submit both the TMJ and Adult Sleep Disorder Surveys with your phone number and he will give you personal call to discuss your symptoms.