The Journal

Issue date: 2/21/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Laila Wessel A five-year employee of Keller Laboratories, Todd Sack sands down a new mouthpiece, ensuring a perfect fit for the patient. Sack began working at the lab at the same time production began for the mouthpiece, which prevents migraines.

The nociceptive trigeminal inhibitor, or NTI, is a custom-fitted mouthpiece worn at night to keep people from clenching their teeth in their sleep. The FDA-approved guard is 80 percent effective in treating migraines.

Students who suffer from migraines may be able to put their chronic headaches behind them. A device called a nociceptive trigeminal inhibitor, or NTI, has been approved by the FDA and has an 80 percent success rate in treating migraines.

Although nobody has isolated a single specific cause for migraine headaches, there are several key triggers that can start them. These include excessive amounts of stress, certain foods and beverages, or alteration in caffeine intake.

Lisa Sommerhauser, the director of Health Services at Webster University, said migraine headaches are common among students.

"I treat someone suffering from migraines an average of four times per month," Sommerhauser said. "And that's new patients, not counting repeat patients."

Sommerhauser said one of the reasons for the high instance of migraines on campus may be the stress that students encounter in their day-to-day lives.

According the American College Health Association-National College Health Assessment, stress was the top impediment to students' academic performance, followed closely by the common cold and
difficulties sleeping.

The NTI, invented by dentist and migraine sufferer Jim Boyd, treats one of the possible causes of the migraine: nociception. Nociception is a condition where a person clenches their teeth during sleep, putting stress on the trigeminal nerve that leads to the temple. The stress inflames the nerve, which can cause severe migraines.

The NTI is a bite guard placed in peoples mouths before they go to sleep. As they sleep, the NTI keeps them from clenching their teeth too tightly so that they do not put undue stress on the nerve.

Ian Barczewski, a sophomore computer science major and migraine sufferer, said he has headaches an average of once every two weeks.

"I get this throbbing headache and tunnel vision," Barczewski said. "They're really irritating. When you have one, you just can't concentrate."

Barczewski said he has a dental appointment soon and that he would use the opportunity to ask about the device.

Matt Bush, a marketing representative for Keller Dental Labs in Fenton, Mo., one of the companies that makes the device, said his company is striving to improve the quality and comfort of the NTI.

"The NTI has been around a while," Bush said. "The real problem is that they were made of inferior materials that would break, turn yellow, smell and taste bad, or they just wouldn't fit right."

Newer NTIs are better-designed. They are made of materials that have a less noticeable smell and taste and can be custom fitted to a
patient's teeth.

Bush also elaborated on the advantages of an NTI over medicinal treatments for migraine sufferers.

"The best thing about it is that there really aren't any side effects," Bush said. "It stops the headaches without making you dizzy or nauseous. It's safe for pregnant women, and since it lasts for five to 10 years, it's less expensive than constantly renewing a prescription."

In order to obtain an NTI, Bush suggests first consulting a dentist. The cost is generally about the same as any other type of bite guard and may be covered under a dental insurance provider to reduce costs.

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