Missing Teeth and Migraine

Don’t be alarmed. This is not an article about how migraine is making your teeth fall out. Neither is it about how missing teeth causes migraine. This is, however, an article about the relationship of missing teeth to migraine.

Those with migraine know that there are many things that can trigger migraine attacks, make migraine attacks more frequent, or make them worse. A recent study published in The Journal of Prosthetic Dentistry compared missing teeth to migraine pain and found an interesting relationship between the two.

It seems that missing teeth can indeed increase your chances of migraine and severe headaches. Interestingly enough, this was more of a problem with your back (posterior) teeth – think molars – and not so much the teeth in the front. However, a combination of missing teeth in the front and back was also a problem.

As you might guess, more missing teeth also meant more headache pain.

Since this study was in a journal about prosthetic dentistry, you will be glad to hear that there was no problem with teeth that had been replaced.

Why might this be? Well, problems with the mouth and jaw certainly have had a historical connection to migraine. The nerves in your face and neck and how your joints function certainly can cause problems.

The good news is that this is not a huge trigger. For example, one more missing tooth in the back meant a 4% higher chance of migraine or severe headache.

So yes, get that tooth replaced if you can afford it. Your teeth are there for a reason, affecting much more than just your ability to eat celery.

However, don’t expect that prosthetic tooth to cure your headaches. It’s only one more thing you can do improve your life a little bit, and hopefully cut down on the pain over the long term.

Study abstract: Association of unreplaced missing posterior teeth with migraine or severe headaches in US adults: A cross-sectional population study