Any experiences with TMJ?

[Princess_Meghan <3]

After a few years of severe ear pains, I finally went to see an ear, throat and nose doctor today, as recommended by my doctor.

It took the doctor 15 minutes to figure out that I have TMJ- my mom, who was with me, is a nurse, and couldn't believe she didn't realize it before. Partially that was because I never connected half the symptoms to my ear pains- for some reason, I thought it was normal for my ears to ring a lot, and accounted the fact that my jaw was sore and it was sometimes difficult to chew to my wisdom teeth, and their removal this summer.

After figuring out what was wrong, the doctor told me that while the diagnosis was easy, the treatment is a lot harder. I'm going to be contacting my family dentist to see if they have a specialist who can treat it, and if not, I'll be asking my family doctor for a dentist that she recommends who can treat it.

What I would like to know is if anyone here knows anyone or has personally delt with having TMJ treated?

I've looked up treatments, and see that there are a lot of different options that mostly depend on specifics that will be figured out at a consultation with my dentist, but it would be really helpful to hear about others experiences with it, mostly to calm my own worries about it.

 

[Mandychelle79]

My mom has TMJ and uses bite plates that help with the pain

I had it, but at 16 had jaw surgery done ( not for the TMJ, but because my jaw quit growing) and it corrected the TMJ issue.

Heat helps, I used a lot of hot water bottles for a while.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

I was diagnosed with TMJ when I was 18 (I'm going to be 47 tomorrow!). Back in the 80s, my dentist had some semi-experimental treatment that involved putting electrodes on my jawbone and pulsing it electronically to try to relax the joint. It didn't do much for me. I saw an oral surgeon who had me take valium at night so I would relax and not grind my teeth. He also made me a night guard that was supposed to keep my lower jaw slightly forward to keep the pressure off the joint. That didn't do much for me either.

I had several mouth guards after that - some that went on the top teeth and some on the bottom. I also had one made that just fit on my two front teeth. All of these were meant to keep me from grinding my teeth and clenching my jaw at night. Again, none of them really worked.

I eventually stopped getting the horrible headaches on the right side of my head that I used to get when I was in college. I also stopped getting the clicking sound in my jaw, and it didn't seem to lock up as much anymore.

Without a huge amount of treatment, my TMJ has leveled off on its own. I know exactly what will aggrevate it. If I stay up too late and get very tired, my jaw will start popping. If I've been talking all day (like I did when I worked at trade shows), it will get sore and feel tight. If I've had a very stressful day (like when my dad had surgery last year), I'll definitely notice it in my jaw.

Good luck with your treatment. I hope it comes out OK!

 

[spacemountainmom]

I was diagnosed with TMJ in my early teens and am now 43. I don't know if it was my parents or my dentist, but nothing was ever done about it. I ended up going to a new dentist in my mid 20's and he's really into dealing with TMJ. Unfortunately, my insurance did not cover any treatment so I just continued to deal with it.

In my mid 30's, I ended up breaking the last molar and had to have it crowned. My dentist is really anal about getting the bite corrected and spent tons of time getting the crown just right. It was some time later that I noticed that my pain, clicking and popping were gone. It has been wonderful! I do sometime have some soreness if I chew gum for too long, but I don't chew much any longer because of that.

Good luck to you with your treatment. I hope you don't have to suffer as long as I did.

 

[dyna]

My DD had TMJ pretty bad for years she rarely complained of pain from it unless her mouth LOCKED open or closed.....The ER was totally useless for this only thing we could do was call orhtodontist an he'd meet us at his office. A few times just giving her a twel full of ice to wrap around her lower face was enough to unlock her jaws other times not.
As she got older into her 20's she pretty much learned to take care of it herself.

A couple of years ago she told me her jaws had popped it hurt really really bad and since then no more TMJ problems.

 

[WDWBarb]

I have atypical fascial pain/TMJ. 17 years ago it was to the point that I had no quality of life. I was a SAHM that could no longer take care of the baby due to disabling pain.

I saw many dentists and even went to a local university that has a whole department dedicated to it. No one could help. Finally, based on a few things I read on the Internet (the way early days!), I saw a chiropractor. I know, I know! But it helped. A lot. In a week my pain was almost gone. It was due to my posture - the muscles trying to hold up my head (that shouldn't have to). I have some problems today but I can recognize what I am doing to cause it and I can do something about it.

TMJ is tricky. There are many different causes and many more treatments. Good luck to you.

 

[HsvTeacher]

I was diagnosed with TMJ when I was 16. Apparently, mine was caused by having six wisdom teeth instead of the average four. After all were removed, my symptoms got better.

 

[2disneyboys]

I have TMJ and have had surgery on both sides of my jaw to "fix" it. (this was after YEARS of therapy and other treatments. It was about 10 years ago that I had the surgery and for the most part, I don't have any problems. Like a PP said, I know what things will irritate my jaw and I do my best to avoid them. From what my surgeon said, lots & lots of people have TMJ and the vast majority of them, it can be treated by meds or therapy etc. and unfortunately, surgery is not a permenant fix... it's entirely possible the problem can reoccur. the advise I got (in my therapy) was

don't "bite" anything.. Ie.. don't put an apple to your mouth and bite/pull it. instead, cut it up, put the pieces in your mouth & chew. Yes, lots of people can "bite" food without any problems but to someone suffering from TMJ this is a huge no no. I'll bite a sandwich or something along that line, but anything with resistance, I cut up and just chew the pieces.

when you "yawn" sort of look down... if you just yawn while looking forward, it actually puts more pressure on your jaw joint then if you sort of look down & yawn.. by looking down, you "cant" open your mouth as much and your neck sort of supports your jaw so this helps minimize the stress on your joints.

dont' rest your jaw on your hand or arm while sitting or lying. this again puts more pressure on your joints.

heat is awesome.. I made a rice sock (clean sock filled with raw rice & knotted) then I would heat it in the microwave and that moist heat would really help (Ice helps some people, but it never helped me.)

some of the inital treatement was prescribed anti inflammatory meds and this did help alot, but I ended up having such severe problems, that surgery was my only option and most dr's will use surgery as a LAST resort. (and I don't reget it for a second, however, if you have to go the surgery route, make sure you have a good Maxilofacial Surgeon as they specialize in this area.)

Good Luck!!!

 

[PatsMom]

I was first diagnosed with TMJ when I was in the Air Force, around the mid 1980's. They did several treatments, including a few different bite plates and daily anti-inflammatories. No real relief to be had there.

After I got out of the Air Force, I went to a civilian dentist who immediately referred me to an orthodontist who specialized in bite problems that were causing problems with the jaw. Three years and some very expensive braces later (along with more bite plates because they had to be redone as my bite changed) I was a candidate for surgery. The Maxillofacial surgeon did a good job but the surgery was miserable. Recovery in intensive care was horrible. No breathing through your mouth because it is wired shut and your nose is stuffed up due to swelling/blood. Fortunately, I made it through with the help of morphine.

But as someone mentioned, surgery is not necessarily a permanent fix. My jaw is giving me problems again - clicking and pain and headaches. I am starting my paperwork with the VA - something I wasn't smart enough to do the first time. Because of limitations on my insurance I paid a small fortune for the first surgery, even though it would have been covered by the VA as a service connected disability if I had been smart enuogh to do the paperwork! I have a VA counselor who is working with me on some other stuff and he said this should be a pretty easy claim - I was clearly diagnosed and treated while in service. And I was under treatment at the time of discharge. I should have been referred to the VA at that time.

 

[BadgerGirl84]

I have TMJ. It got a lot worse after I banged my jaw and clicking/popping and pain got worse after the trauma.

My dentist said to go to a Physical Therapist for it. The PT didn't help a ton but gave me some good ideas.

-Rest your jaw as often as possible. This is putting the tip of your tongue just above your top teeth and relaxing your lower jaw. You can practice "clucking" to figure out where exactly to put your tongue. She said your teeth should only be in contact for 15 min a day!

-Sit up straight and have good neck/shoulder alignment.

-Moist heat helps.

-Different stretching exercises she gave me helped a bit.

-Ultrasound helps a lot...but just temporarily for me.

I was "required" by my insurance to go to PT before they would pay for the dental mouth guard that my dentist made. I was very skeptical of the dental mouth guard to wear at night to keep my teeth from grinding, but it has been a GODSEND. I have no problem sleeping with it and my jaw pain and the clicking/popping has reduced significantly.

 

[marcemc]

Oh I feel for you, TMD can be really painful.

I have a mouth guard that helps me a lot, I don't use it every night, only when i feel pressure in my jaw after waking up (that's how i know), anti-inflammatories work & I also use a face mask that can either go in the freezer or be warmed up in the microwave.

I hope you feel better & stay TMD free for a long time

 

[Princess_Meghan <3]

Thanks for sharing your experiences, everyone!

It seems like a bite plate is the most common thing to use, and I'm hoping mine can be treated with that. Until I can have my consultation, though, I'll be following some of the tips you guys have given me! Thanks again, everyone!

 

[Katy Belle]

My jaw would dislocate every time I layed down. Sometimes my jaw would lock open and sometimes lock closed. I went to a TMJ specialust. I was fitted with an appliance, that was to line up my jaw correctly. I was suposed to wear it forever. I wore it for about 3 months, and Ive had no problems since.

 

[beachlover9395]

I have a pretty mild case of TMJ, with my right side being way more problematic than my left. I have the popping and cracking with the right side.

Has anyone tried Botox for their TMJ? Mine isn't bad enough to try it, but it may provide relief in some people, especially if the muscles are primarily the problem.