Sleep and headache share a well-established, bidirectional relationship, with many complex interactions. Headache attacks are often precipitated by disturbed sleep and sleep may help resolve migraine attacks but can also interfere with one’s ability to maintain a regular sleep schedule.
For the clinician who treats headache disorders, it important to gain an understanding the aspects of sleep that share many attributes with
the pathophysiology of headache disorders.

Dr. Bender earned his Doctorate of Dental Surgery degree from Baylor College of Dentistry in Dallas, Texas in1986 and practiced general and comprehensive restor-ative dentistry for 14 years. He then studied orofacial pain and temporomandibu-lar disorders at the Parker E Mahan Facial Pain Center at the University of Florida College Of Dentistry. From 2000-2015, Dr. Bender maintained a private practice devoted to pain management of the head and face, as well as sleep disorders. Be-ginning in 2016, he transitioned to a full time faculty member at Texas A&M Col-lege of Dentistry in Dallas, Texas in the department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and assumed the role of director of facial pain and sleep medicine. He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Orofacial Pain and has earned Fellowship in the American Academy of Orofacial Pain, the American Headache Society, the International Academy of Oral Oncology and the American College of Dentists. He is a past president of the American Academy of Orofacial Pain as well as the Fourth District Dental Society of Texas and the Dallas Academy of General Den-tistry. In addition, he serves as a consultant for the United States Army.