TMJ... anyone have it? what is it?

[DMickey28]

I think I might have that. Tight jaw muscle, limited opening ability, cracking in the joint... face muscles hurt, achey like you have been chewing old gum for a long time, starts headaches behind my eyes and in the back of my head and neck.

What kind of treatments are there?

 

[barbeml]

I had a horrible case of TMJ in my twenties when my wisdom teeth erupted and impacted. Had to wait a year for extraction, because insurance would not pay otherwise. I used to get pain like a vise tightening around my skull, and it would last for weeks!

Alcohol was the only thing that helped the pain.

I improved 95% after teeth came out, but I am 42 now and still get some minor pain at times.

I have heard that there are some surgical remedies for extreme cases. You might ask your dentist what the latest treatments are.

Good luck!

 

[Microcell]

My best friend had it and got surgery. They cut a piece of bone out if I remember correctly.

 

[grinningghost]

I have had it since I was a teenager. Had a mouth brace made by an orthodontist - it didn't help much at all.

I've since learned to live with it. My jaw cracks, crunches, pops, all of it. I also get pains in my head - not the usual headaches - just pains. I can also move my jaw around by myself, it's kind of gross.

 

[luvdzny]

I had it for years. I had surgery almost 3 years ago and it really helped. Usually in TMJ the tendon slips out of place and the cracking you hear is the tendon slipping back in place. Sometimes the tendon tears or becomes unattached. (This is a very simple way of explaining it, there is more to it but I am not a doctor so I am just giving you an "overview.") I lived with it for over 20 years before I had the surgery. The pain was constant and I could barely open my mouth at all, I had to break everything apart to even eat. The surgery was a bit rough, I had a bone growing in the wrong place so the surgeon had to cut the bone out, they had a hard time getting my mouth open wide enough to begin. My insurance only paid $1000 towards the surgery so we ended up paying $19,000 - that was hard! I still need to have more surgery but the pain is gone. I heard so many bad things about the surgery that I really put it off for a long time, now I wish I had done it sooner. Any more questions - just PM me. Good Luck.

 

[DisneyAddict_M]

I've had it since I got my braces off when I was 16 (TMJ is sometimes a "side-effect" of braces). My jaw just clicks almost every time I open my mouth. I've just gotten used to it.

 

[BrerMom]

Get a referral for a good chiropractor. They can work wonders.

I didn't have a chiro years ago when my dentist told me that I either had to go to massage therapist (think sports therapy) or have surgery. The massages hurt like crazy while I was being worked on, but the benefits were fantastic. At first, there wasn't a lot of change. Then I could go a day after the massage without pain. Then two days, then a week. It sure wasn't in our budget, and insurance didn't cover it at all, but I went in every two weeks for a year and have been mostly pain-free for several years. I go in once or twice a year when I can tell it's starting to tighten up again.

 

[honeywolf7]

Originally posted by grinningghost
I have had it since I was a teenager. Had a mouth brace made by an orthodontist - it didn't help much at all.

I've since learned to live with it. My jaw cracks, crunches, pops, all of it. I also get pains in my head - not the usual headaches - just pains. I can also move my jaw around by myself, it's kind of gross.

same here

 

[two4ruff]

I wore a night time bite guard that kept me from clenching and grinding my teeth at night. The headaches went away and funny thing, I had no need for the bite guard after I quit that particular job...

I still pop and I have some aches after dentist visits, but its managable.

 

[BrerMom]

Oh, I completely forgot about the biteguard! Yes, that helped quite a bit, too!

 

[MScott1851]

I have it.. and a $475 piece of plastic crap that I am supposed to wear in my mouth at night because of teeth grinding. It was funny, the oral surgeon gave me a prescription for Xanax so that I could take one before bed in order to tolerate the mouthpiece. I'd wake up in the morning, having spit out the retainer, it was like a game to see where I would find the biteguard each morning...Besides, it rubbed the inside of my jaw and gave me ulcers, so I threw it in the drawer and never looked at it again.

I have little exercises for my jaw that I do, I NEVER chew gum or taffy, etc, and I tend to cut things up (like thick hamburgers) in to smaller pieces to eat them.

A lot of times my jaw clicks so bad that Clint can't stand to eat near me...It hasn't locked in almost 6 months, though...I have found that when it feels tight, or is off line, it helps if I try to bring my bottom jaw IN and DOWN towards my chest without moving my neck (I know it sounds confusing) while holding my jaws in alignment. Other times I get mad and end up literally wrenching my jaws with my hands...or hitting myself in the face trying to "pop it back in. My oralmaxilofacial surgeon is so pleased.

I wish I didn't have it. My mouth pulls to one side when I talk or sing, and if I take a picture straight on, you can see that one side of my face/jaw is definitely off. My mom used to tell me, "Well, if Holly Hunter made it work, there's nothing wrong with a crooked little mouth." Bless her heart.

 

[lecach]

I have it. Mine was brought on by a car accident when I was 16. I've had three surgeries. The last one was to put my cartilage discs back in place - they had slipped out. After a year they were out again. I cant have any more surgery. So the TMJ dr. (there ARE specialists - called Oral and Maxillofacial specialists - make sure you go to one) made me a repositional splint. Its a mouthpiece that I wear all the time except when eating. While I still have pain and have to be careful not to talk too much or eat chewy foods at least its enabled me to go off the strong medicines. And helped me be able to get pregnant (which I couldnt do while on the meds).

 

[DisneyBug1995]

I went to a TMJ specialist. After several months of wearing a splint and massage therapy it is much better. The only times I have problems is when I am under a lot of stress or sometimes after I go to the dentist.

 

[DMickey28]

Interesting.

I have often woke up with a sore jaw and massaging my jaw area helped. I felt like I was clenching my teeth during the night. I don't grind, my little brother does though a lot!

I don't have a problem with normal mouth functions like eating and talking at all. It cracks when I yawn or anything larger like that. Mostly it's just tight and sore and the basis for headaches....

 

[Dizzy-Disney4]

I have had it since I was 15. Not sure why but it bothers me sometimes more than others but then again I dont normally pay attention to what may cause it. I do know occasionally I will be eating and everyone around me can hear the really loud pop. And ouch the headaches sometimes....I could do without those. Most of the time I dont even pay attention to it though as I have had it for so long.

 

[ElizK]

I've got it. Started when I was about 19. Jaws pop, can't open my mouth widely, pain, etc. The mouthguard I was given actually made my problem worse, so I threw away that $300.00.

I've been told my two diff Dr's that surgery is necessary, but I chickened out.

 

[JustHolly]

FYI- Just because I'm proud I know this


TMJ stands for Temporo Mandibular Joint

It is where your upper and lower mandibles (jawbones) meet.