Anyone have any experience with TMJ?

[Rootskate]

My mom has really been suffering with TMJ the last month and a half. She has been to the Dentist, an ENT, and her PCP. Nothing she has tried seems able to "break the cycle", as they say. She has tried Advil, Valium, alternating heat/cold packs, soft diet.....nothing seems to help. Just wondering if anyone else has had this problem and if you have any other ideas that worked for you?

 

[Snoozan]

A mouthguard from my dentist broke the cycle for me - Well worth the $$$, IMO. I'm working on my 2nd one - they last for years. It's a hard, acrylic mouthpiece - kinda like what athletes were, but more fitted. Once you get used to wearing it, you won't go without it.

 

[rgf207]

Yep, I have it. Actually it's killing me right now. I can't even open my mouth the whole way. I have had a mouthguard from my dentist and that hasn't stopped the TMJ. It just stopped me from grinding my teeth down to nothing
Surgery is my next option

 

[disney4us2002]

Is she having pain, clicking, frozen jaw, all or none? I suffered with TMJ following a car accident. I wore the sleep guard and also had electro-magnetic stimulation treatments - I was basically shocked along the jaw line. I think it was supposed to relax the jaw muscles?? Not sure exactly, but it did seem to do the trick. My friend had TMJ much worse than me and she chose to wear braces for about 18 months to reallign her bite.

 

[Rootskate]

Is she having pain, clicking, frozen jaw, all or none? I suffered with TMJ following a car accident. I wore the sleep guard and also had electro-magnetic stimulation treatments - I was basically shocked along the jaw line. I think it was supposed to relax the jaw muscles?? Not sure exactly, but it did seem to do the trick. My friend had TMJ much worse than me and she chose to wear braces for about 18 months to reallign her bite.

She is having pain, bigtime. Her ear also hurts quite a bit at times.

 

[shortbun]

I had a massage therapist do marvelous work for me. Mine only bothers me now if I chew gum. I do use ibuprofen once in a while but a day or two is all I need. I also do some relaxation excersizes the therapist taught me before I go to bed. They keep me from grinding. I ground right though the plastic apparatas; ground holes in one and snapped the 2nd one.

 

[JoBird]

Tmd (Tempromandibular disorder...not TMJ, which is the Tempromandibular joint itself) can be caused from a number of things ranging from an accident to the jaw, to grinding or clenching the teeth at night to a more serious disorder of the joint never forming correctly in the womb.

I have had TMD for 20 years. It was so bad 4 years ago that my jaw was in a locked position for over a year. I couldn't eat anything that was larger than the width of my index finger, because that was how big I could open my mouth. I went to 2 different chiropacters who tried to "force" my jaw into place. It was excrutiating. What they failed to realize was that they were making it worse. If they had done x-rays, they would have seen that my jaw on the left side is almost non-existant.

I finally went to see a specialist in the dental field. He fitted me with an appliance that was worn 24 hours a day, including eating and sleeping. I had to eat a soft diet and drank a lot of protein shakes during that time. After 6 months I was fitted with another appliance for nighttime use that goes over my top two teeth. I can now open my mouth wider than 4 fingers together.

I can honestly say that this Dentist saved my life. I had already told my Husband that I couldn't live another day in the pain I was in.

Please find a dentist in your area that is associated with the Academy of Pain Management, the American Board of Craniofacial pain and the American Board of Orofacial Pain. They are specialists that work with TMD patients and have huge success rates with what they do.

PM me if you have further questions, I'd be happy to help others out.

Jo

 

[minnie56]

I have it too....actually, as I sit here I am in agony. Not sure though if from a flare up of TMJ or the fact that I had some major dental work done this past Tuesday that saw me sitting in his chair for 5 hours! Perhaps a combination of both! I think the TMJ has reared it's ugly head along with the disgruntled teeth involved..

When mine was at it's worst. The Oral Surgeon prescribed some heavy duty anti-inflammatories and I also had my Chirporactor work on it. Both helped me...but it took awhile. My total empathy. It's horrible...One thing the Dr did tell me...gum chewing is a MAJOR no-no for TMJ sufferers.

 

[SeaSpray]

I'm dealing with this right now, and have been for the last 4-5 months. I've seen my PCP, regular dentist, and an ENT. I had an MRI of the head/brain which ruled out a tumor and sinus problems. My regular dentist (about 2 months ago) did file down my molars on the side where I have pain, and I think that helped a bit, but not enough. My bite is very off, and the side where the pain is, is where my teeth meet first when I bite down. I have a habit of clenching my teeth, and I'm fairly certain that that's what's causing my pain.

At this point, the doctors are telling me that it's either TMJ or a neurological problem. I've been advised to contact an oral surgeon. I'll be calling to make an appt next week.

The pain from this is quite unbearable when it gets bad. My PCP had me on prescription strength Naproxin for a month (twice a day), and I don't know if it helped or not. What I did before the Naproxin, and what I'm doing now, is to take 3 ibuprophen (600mgs) when the pain starts and it seems to really head it off and make it cease. The thing is, I can't and don't want to have to go the rest of my life like this; wondering at any moment when the pain will start and worry about having ibuprophen nearby. Right now, I don't go anywhere without a small bottle of it with me.

When the pain gets bad, it overtakes the entire right side of my head including eye socket, ear, glands under my jaw, my scalp, and of course my jaw/teeth.

I'm sorry that so many of us are suffering with this. The weird thing is, I'm actually getting used to the pain. The people I work with will notice me rubbing my cheekbone or below my eye socket and say "Are you ok??" and I don't even REALIZE that I'm experiencing moderate pain at that point until they point it out. I forget what it's like to be pain-free (along with this stinking jaw thing, I also have fibromyalgia and rheumatoid arthritis).

I still am an optimistic person though and keep my sense of humor; I realize that these things won't kill me. they'll just make me miserable the rest of my life.

 

[MAKmom]

I was told in my 20's it is caused by STRESS. Woman carry stress physically in the jaw & shoulders.

I'm 45 & I can not open my mouth really wide but I am pain free.

One theory is when a person is under too much stress the body manifest a PAIN so the mind is protected from the stress. The brain will always protect your mind before your body.

I still get other pains & DH makes me say. "I understand what you are doing with causing this pain. I will relax you can stop the pain now."

I know it sounds crazy but it works. It may take a few days for inflammation to heal but try it. I think he read this in the Mind Body Connection. He has been pain free for 7 years now from hip pain he had for 20.

 

[MM27]

My dentist made me a mouthguard and I actually ended up breaking off a piece in my sleep (I'm a grinder) and I swallowed it

What worked for me was going to my chiropractor. He uses this little metal thing that looks like a gun and it actually realigns the jaw. I had constant popping in my jaw and severe pain to the point of I wasn't eating because it was so painful to open my mouth.

 

[Rootskate]

Wow, Im amazed at how many people have dealt with this! Thank you all for the replys.

 

[MosMom]

I get TMJ flare ups. The first time I had one I felt like biting down on something would ease the pain. WOOOO! I bit down on a towel and felt like I would shoot through the roof with the pain. That was years ago and I haven't had another big one since. It is not fun. I was told to take 800mg of Ibuprofen to get through it and it worked.

 

[sumrmist]

I had the problem from the age of 15 on. I even had braces when I was 20 to try and help it. In 7/03 I had a major surgery and ended up with what tehy call a closed lock. Basically the cartilage disc had slipped completely out and was caught so that the jaw could not open. In Dec. 03 I ended up have laser TMJ surgery. Done just like a knee scope procedure. I had two very small incisions that looked more like paper cuts than surgical incisions. I wore a bandaid home and have been fine ever since. The use a laser to clean up the frayed edges then sewed the cartilage back into place. I recently saw the surgeon, 4 years after my surgery and he was amazed that Ive had such luck with it. Most patients who have the surgery I have usually have it again within 2-3 years. Ive been extremely lucky I guess. If it is that bad ask for an MRI it is the only way they can truly determine the state of the cartilage.

 

[wildernesslodgelover]

A mouthguard from my dentist broke the cycle for me - Well worth the $$$, IMO. I'm working on my 2nd one - they last for years. It's a hard, acrylic mouthpiece - kinda like what athletes were, but more fitted. Once you get used to wearing it, you won't go without it.

This also helped me. I wear it at night whenever my TMJ flares up. My TMJ is mild, whereas hers sounds much more serious.

I know it really hurts, good luck to her, and all the TMJD sufferers that have posted.

 

[HeyIt'sMe]

I had TMJ when I was a teenager and the treatment for me was braces. My TMJ was caused because my top teeth, while straight, tilted back slightly so they would push my lower teeth/jaw back when my teeth were together causing my jaw to misalign.

I wore the braces for about a year and never had a problem with TMJ after that.

During my DD's last dentist visit they said her top teeth were tilted just like mine and pushing her lower jaw back. I see braces in her future .....

 

[HelenePA]

I had TMJ in HS. So much my jaw LOCKED when I was a senior. I had to wear a mouth guard 24hrs a day except to eat soft foods, mostly jello and pudding, til this day I can NOT eat either of them.

 

[Rootskate]

I am going to share all of this info with her. I really do appreciate everyones input.

 

[BuckyFan04]

I have had problems with grinding and clenching my teeth, especially at night. My front tooth actually got chipped once because of the grinding. I've been using one of those hard, plastic mouthguards at night for the last 1.5 years, and I can see the big grooves in it from where I've been grinding.

If I find myself clenching during the day or when my jaws feel stiff, I massage the jaw joint by rubbing in circles with my fingers on the jaw joint and it helps relax the muscles.

I hope your mom can find some relief from her pain!

 

[nhrenee]

For a time I couldn't open my mouth as wide as two fingers. Accupressure on each side of my jaw is what helped me. It took awhile to find the correct pressure point.

Also, this is going to sound crazy, but it got LOADS better after I took up Tae Kwon Do. I was 36 when I started (I'm 46 now). I guess it was the stress relief.

Before I go to the dentist I premed with an 800m ibuprophen 1 hour before the appt.