New Jersey Dentist's Methods to Eliminate Headaches

Would you like to be free of debilitating and often untested medication to treat your headaches? Headaches are a symptom of the disease of Masticatory Muscle Spasms. We eliminate the spasm in the muscles by balancing the bite.

Millions of dollars are lost every year because of headaches. Employers lose productive hours from their employees, who in turn lose wages due to their inability to function. Insurance companies pay out for doctor visits and prescriptions. Sometimes untested medications are prescribed (Vioxx, etc.) which jeopardize your health. What many insurance companies and physicians fail to recognize is that much of what has been lumped into the category of MIGRAINE is in fact masticatory muscle myospasm (MMM).

Our treatments eliminate the need for drugs by getting to the cause of the problem: The teeth have never been properly adjusted, and therefore the muscles aren't working right.

Definition of MMM - The muscles which open and close the lower jaw (mastication = chewing) are in spasm due to the fact that they cannot achieve a comfortable rest position. When muscles are constantly firing, they are in spasm and that spasm causes pain. The muscles that are primarily involved are the temporalis, the masseters, and the pterygoids (internal and external). Click here to see an excellent representation of how these muscles function together.

The NTI appliance is totally different than anything most dentists use to eliminate these muscle spasms that cause most headaches, especially headaches that awaken you due to the fact that you've been clenching your teeth in your sleep.

Fill out a questionnaire to find out whether your symptoms can be bite related.

New Jersey Dentist, Dr. Steve Markus has spent a tremendous amount of time, studying under some of the world's most renowned experts on the Temporomandibular joint, and how dysfunction of the joint (TMD) can be eliminated to suppress the muscles spasms thus diminishing headaches. There is a great explanation of this, given by one of Dr. Steve Markus' friends, and a well known expert on TMD, Dr. Jerry Simon, which can be viewed by clicking here. I would encourage you to watch both videos on this page, and also, to purchase Dr. Simon's book "Stop Headaches Now" which is written in terms that patients can understand, and is available from Amazon.com.

People who grind, or clench their teeth in their sleep usually do it because there is an interference in the bite, which is causing muscle disharmony. Anyone who wakes up in the middle of the night with a headache is most likely suffering from TMD. If your jaw joints (TMJ) are stiff and sore when you wake up in the morning, how do you think they got that way?

Using TekScan to Find and Eliminate Bite Problems

Once you understand the connection between even the smallest of interferences in your bite and headache, wouldn't you want to see whether New Jersey Dentist, Dr. Steve Markus can help you? If you need further information on how this process works, click here. Please contact our office to schedule an appointment. We look forward to making you comfortable and drug-free.

Here is what our patients recently wrote:

I am a HUGE clencher and migraine sufferer.  I got an NTI in 2002.  Wow, jaw pain was better, neck and shoulder pain was greatly reduced and I had so many fewer migraines that I could get off daily pain medication that I had taken for 15 years.

About 3 years ago I went with my husband to a seminar put on by Mark Murphy.  I was SHOCKED when I learned all the bad things that could happen to me by using an NTI.  My husband made made me a hard occulsal appliance.  It was perfectly balanced, by Mark and my husband.  I woke the next day with painful joints.  I felt like my jaw was being forced back - but this was "ideal" for me.  This happened again and again.  After more than a month of increased pain and horrible sleeping.  My husband was concerned and so he went right to Jim Boyd.  He then told me to go back to my NTI.

I suppose you could say I am psychologically dependant on my NTI.  I do not want to sleep without it.  I am addicted to a piece of plastic.  But remember, I was PHYSICALLY dependant on narcotics, (not to mention I had a bleeding ulcer at 26 years old due to NSAIDS) to get me by on a day to day basis because of daily migraines from age 21.  I think the plastic addiction is better for me, personally. 

My husband does both in his practice.  For just protecting the teeth, clenching/grinding but no pain consequences, he does the hard occlusal guard.  And the patients who comply do very well.  We follow them very closely, and most just do not comply! 

Our pain patients comply, because they are strongly motivated.  Pain is a strong motivator.  We offer to buy back an NTI from anyone who does not get better.  We have bought back 2 in the past 2 years.  And we have had 1 anterior open bite.  We have done at least 200 NTI's over the past 5 years.

I think it is a great device that has changed my life, as well as the life of many of our patients.  By the way, we have done 2 for free this year- 2 girls, both migraine sufferers, both going into their first year of college, neither could afford it.  BOTH had reduced symptoms right away, one cried in my chair, she did not know how she was going to get through it with the chronic pain.  She has no idea how it would have worsened with the stress of the first year of college.   I checked them both at Christmas, the are doing amazingly well - migraines are greatly reduced.  I will monitor them closely.

Samantha

I had been suffering with daily headaches, jaw pain, tooth pain, and nausea for about 6 years. I had developed a horrible case of TMJ from daily and nightly bruxism. I tried everything - many different medications, mouthguards, relaxation, hypnosis, psychotherapy, exercise, and numerous others treatments. I even took out a loan to see this specialist in North Jersey - it didn't work but cost me $6500.00. I was frustrated, depressed and broke when I found Dr. Markus.

I originally went to see Dr. Markus after my physician had diagnosed mercury poisoning. I was referred to him because Dr. Markus is a mercury-free dentist he was going to replace my silver fillings with composites using the safest technique.

Following a lengthy discussion during the consultation, he discussed the fact that my headaches sounded like they could be TMJ-related and he suggested an NTI for me. He knew that I had been through a lot with my health so he recommended that I research it myself and get back to him. He seemed confidant enough in the product that he didn't have to "sell" it to me. I did research it and called him the next day to schedule my appointment to get mine.

Everything I read was positive and I was eager to give it a try. I got my NTI the day before my trip to Italy. I was anxious about being sick on my trip but with my new NTI I had nothing to worry about. I have worn the NTI every night since and I no longer have jaw pain, tooth pain or get nauseous from head pain. My headaches are much less frequent and less intense. And it’s only been 3 weeks since I started wearing my NTI.

I highly recommend Dr. Markus and the NTI appliance. It is well worth the money!

Ginamarie Trotta

Dear Dr. Markus:

I initially came to you for an improvement of my smile.  Little did I expect that not only would you do a fantastic job correcting the defects in my smile, but that you'd eliminate the headaches that have plagued me for many, many years.

Your examination was very thorough, to say the least.  You looked at my teeth, and then looked me squarely in the eyes, and said, "You have headaches, don't you?"  I couldn't believe you could tell that from looking at my teeth.  Your assessment was unbelievable.

But more unbelievable was the fact that since adjusting my bite 8 months ago, before you performed your cosmetic magic, and making my NTI appliance, I have not once awakened with a headache in the morning.  You have not only enhanced my appearance, but made me a very happy and healthier person.

Thank you for being so thorough.

Patti Sanchez

Dr Markus,

I am so glad I found the NTI. It has drastically reduced to severity and frequency of my headaches. For years I tried to find the source of my headaches. I was treated for sinusitis, tension headaches, and migraines, but the treatments didn’t seem to help. I was also treated for TMJ and had one of the older style u-shaped mouthpieces. It didn’t help much, so I wasn’t sure if clenching was the source of my problems. I researched the NTI and decided to give it a try despite the cost. The NTI has been money well spent. Waking up without a headache is a wonderful thing.

Thanks again,
Melissa Goepel

I am writing this e-mail to try to explain what I can only say must be a God send. Dr. Markus is my God send. He asked me during one of my visits to his office, if I had headaches. I told him that everyday I have headaches. I thought it was attributed to the stress I had been under, or even sinus problems that I had had in the past. Every morning I would wake up from a restless night sleep with a splitting headache. Dr. Markus told me it could be from grinding my teeth and a mis-alignment of my jaw. I thought that Dr. Markus must have been crazy. He fitted me with an appliance for me to wear when I sleep and when I feel tense. I thought to myself how could this possible work?

The next morning I woke up with just a dull headache and every morning since then I have yet to wake up with a headache. The next appointment was to adjust some of the high points in my bite and with just a few minor adjustment my jaw is back in alignment again. It feels as though all the pressure has been lifted and there has been nothing but relief for me since Dr. Markus re-aligned my jaw. I can not thank you enough for helping me with the alignment of my jaw and I do not suffer with headaches any longer.

Thank You Dr. Markus very much for helping me with what I thought was part of a migraine or sinus condition that I would have to deal with for the rest of my life. Why didn't my doctors tell me about this?

Again Thank You,
Mary Ann Owens

The faulty bite was compounded by several baby teeth that never were replaced by permanent ones. Severe headaches were another symptom

It was a lot of work, Dr. Markus, but this smile makes it all worthwhile. A side benefit is that I no longer suffer from daily headaches that my MD told me were migraines. They weren't. They were all bite related. Now that my bite is perfect, my head pain is totally gone.

- Ryan Lewis

One simple question from Dr. Markus’ hygienist changed my life. After looking at my bite, she said, “I’ll bet you get a lot of headaches?” How is it that seemingly nobody is aware that bite problems can be the cause? How is it that so few dentists know how to do this? In my entire life, nobody had every mentioned bite adjustments to me. We all assume that the teeth just have to meet properly. Just look at the difference between my first and last T-scans. This treatment has changed my outlook on life, and I’ve now got a beautiful smile to complement my headache-free existence!

Dear Dr. Markus,

This letter is long over due however It's my pleasure to let you know how you and you staff helped my T.M.J. and therefore helped me.It has been three years and a long road to see my commitment through that I made to my teeth and my health and it was worth every penny .

I have been an R.N. for 23 years and found myself literally disabled from my work, family and it took every ounce of energy I had to get out of bed every day. The migraine headaches that go along with T.M.J. as you well know are so fierce it's almost unthinkable to me how I got through it all. Even though I was skeptical at first I can look back now and realize that the relief started when I met you and your staff and all from an article in my local newspaper.

The relief from the T.M.J. was total within a few months then I made the commitment to go through with the rest of the reconstruction that I so desperately needed. I admit I was overwhelmed at first but soon realized that where there is a will there is a way and I did find my way. Thanks to all of you.

You should be proud of you dedicated staff to mention a few there's Betsy, Adrienne, Michele, Melissa and Gloria. They made me so comfortable and have a real knack of working in the relaxing environment you are so kind to provide for your patients. I must say that my road trips were 5 hrs. or so round trip and I looked forward to getting pampered when I got there.

In closing I would like to acknowledge all you do for everyone of your patients and also wanted to tell you that I'm feeling so well that I'm enrolled in College. I want to be a legal nurse consultant and I can seriously look back and say that you had a big part in that decision. You are all special people to me and I will never forget the work you do.

Sincerely,

Alanna D.

Dear Dr. Markus: 

On March 13, 2006, I visited your office. You outfitted me with an NTI, that fits between my two front teeth to help with my severe problem of grinding my teeth.  Since I was 8, I’ve had dentists tell me that I was a grinder and that I was going to damage my teeth.  I never listened.  As I got older the grinding got more severe.  At the age of 41, my dentist was telling me that my grinding was so bad I was going to lose my teeth.  Some crowns she could not even fit because she said there was nothing to put a crown on.  She outfitted me with a night guard and I tried to use it but every morning when I woke up, it was out of my mouth and on the floor.  I hated it.  I felt like I was going to choke when I wore it.  At this point, my grinding had gotten so bad, I was getting daily headaches.  Migraines they felt like.  In fact, I always carried in my purse Excedrin Migraine Headache Medicine and would take it practically everyday.  I thought the headaches were stress related.  Then I visited you.  You looked at my teeth and addressed some of the problems I asked you about.  You then told me we had to first stop the grinding. You told me that the headaches were an effect of my grinding.  You examined my bite carefully with something, I’m not quite sure and in about 5 minutes you made me the tiniest piece of plastic to put between my two front teeth.  I was amazed.  I thought to myself is this really going to stay in and stop my grinding?  Well I can tell you that I started using it that first night of March 13.  It is now March 28th, and I can excitedly say that my daily headaches have vanished.  I sleep all night with it and have no problem keeping it in.  In addition, when I take it out in the morning, I actually feel like my jaw is getting realigned and it feels good!  Thank you.  For 33 years, other dentists have tried to get me to wear a night guard but to no avail.  You are the only dentist who devised something I could sleep with and feel comfortable with.  But the biggest reward has been the loss of headaches and I definitely do not miss them!  Thank you Dr. Markus. 

Sincerely,

Rita DeFelicis 

"I am writing this email to express my extreme gratitude to Dr. Markus and the total disappearance of my headaches. I have gone from having a headache every day to NONE!

I spent hundreds of dollars for MRI's, prescription medication and over the counter medications with minor success. I'd been treated for migraines and sinus headaches. I always knew I had a bad bite and clench my teeth when tense.I wear my NTI at night and have not had a headache since. What a pleasure! The money I spent for the NTI was well worth it. I can say goodbye to headaches!!" 

- Pat Shepherd