TMJ.......Jaw Pain

[Beauty]

About a year ago I had TMJ and I did two things,

1. Went to a chiropractor who seemed to help and...
2. Had both my upper and lower wisdom teeth pulled...

Well this worked GREAT for a while. Before I could only fit 2 fingers in my mouth up and down and I had gotten back to normal...4 fingers.

Well in the last week I've noticed a lot more popping going on back there than usual (My jaw has popped since this first started over a year ago) and today it hurts like heck back there. For example when I'm eating and I bite down the jaw hurts. When I try to grit my teeth back there its really sore. When I open my mouth wide my jaw pops on both side but it hurts on the right. Its nothing I can't stand but really annoying. Also I have found myself (and John mentioned it too) talking with the left side of my mouth and trying to keep that side closed and I have to force my mouth open to get the four fingers in.

UUUGGHHH what do I do????? Is there anything BESIDES going to a DR.? Do you even go to a Dr. or do you go to a dentist?

 

[Jenzebelle]

I don't know about your Dr, but mine won't do anything for my TMJ other than tell me to take aleve and see the dentist.

Unfortunately there isn't a heck of a lot you can do for TMJ unless you're a teeth grinder and then you get one of those mouthpieces. I've had TMJ since I was 13 (that's when it was diagnosed) and I pretty much have to not chew gum and try not to eat a lot of chewy foods. I've also noticed that my TMJ acts up a lot when I'm stressed out. If I do something to de-stress, it helps a lot.

Definitely make an appt with your dentist and see what he/she has to say. In the meantime, Aleve or motrin helps as well as a hot face cloth on your jaw

 

[Beauty]

Thanks Jenn, the first flair up wasn't painful, just annoying because my mouth wouldn't open wide, this time its annoying as heck!!

I will definatly get some Aleve!

 

[Jenzebelle]

Make sure to watch your stress level too because it will cause your jaw muscles to tighten. Aleve works better than tylenol or advil because it has naproxen in it

I once wound up in the ER because of the worst earache of my life - I was crying and couldn't move my head without intense pain. I thought it was an ear infection. Nope - a TMJ flair up. The worst ever.

 

[Fire14]

I've also found for me alternating hot and cold compresses helps along with gentle massaging. Of course in my case wearing my retainer helps.

 

[dbond]

Do you talk on the phone alot for your work? I had a terrible TMJ flare-up once when I had started a new job that required me to be on the phone a lot. I didn't get one of those shoulder cradles and I instinctively held the phone with my shoulder while using my hands on the computer. It took months for my TMJ to completely clear up.

My dentist had me wear a football mouth guard at night while sleeping to keep my jaw aligned. He said the sports mouth guard works as well as a custom made expensive something he could order for me and the whole point is to immobilize your jaw as much as possible to enable healing and reduce the irritation. Taking ibuprofen and icing the painful area should help reduce the swelling.

The reason it takes so long to heal once it becomes irritated is that it continues to irritate itself because it's almost impossible to keep it from moving. If your jaw pops a lot, you may need to see a speciality dentist or an oral surgeon. You may have misalignment that should be corrected through surgery.

 

[janette]

My DH's jaw pops all the time, he had problems with pain once a long time ago and they pretty much told him he needed surgery.

You might try seeing an orthodondist. Part of my DH's problem is an uncorrected overbite. His problems did wonders for his argument that our DD's overbite doesn't need fixing , after all he has an overbite and he's just fine

 

[Beauty]

I talked to my aunt who works for my dentist this morning and she said Aleve...she also said get a mouth piece and try not to talk much for a few days. She said eat soft food to keep from chewing and to do anything I could to NOT work that side of my mouth.

She also said if I came in she felt sure that surgery might be suggested because of the extreme popping (out of alignment)....and since I'm terrified of anestisia I'm not talking for a week....LOL!!!!!!! If I can't answer it with a um-hummm or ummm-um then I'm not answering...LOL!

Disney is only a month away and I don't want this pain there!