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Have you had TMJ?


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2-3 years ago I had some major dental work. A root canal and 4 crowns total. I have nice shiny white (somewhat) fake teeth now. I have no doubt I had some major jaw trauma.

 

Since yesterday the pain was so bad it was from the side of my jaw and in to my ear. I can barely swallow. It was bad after the dental work but lessened. It comes and goes but this is by far the worse since the work was done.

 

What do I do? Or what would a dr do? I don't even know if this is something I see my dentist for or what.

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I do not grind my teeth, though I hear that is a cause. Mine is from trauma from a couple very, very loooooong sessions of dental work.

 

This was/is the case with me. I went through some really bad patches where the pain was unbearable and I couldn't eat. Dentist wanted to do surgery and have me wear braces too...so I did my own research and now I do very well at managing it with self care. I will look for the info I have on it, but the highlights of what works for me

 

Becoming VERY aware of how I set my jaw during the day. I wasn't clenching or grinding but setting it. If that makes sense. I learned how to hold my mouth open slightly with my tongue between my teeth. I also made sure I didn't sit at computer the wrong way...and that I never put my chin in my hand (I had that habit). I also FORCED myself to relearn a sleep position. I slept with my chin wedged on my jaw. I still sleep that way but I ALWAYS put a pillow between my hand and jaw and work hard to keep my hand away from my face...but the pillow helps a bunch.

 

I learned some relaxation exercises...one silly one that really works is to mouth the word 'plum' over and over.

 

If I feel a TMJ headache coming on (they can put me to bed like a migrain) I begin taking big doses of Ibuprofin (800 mg twice a day---usually 36-48 hours will knock it out).

 

And last but not least massage. Find a massage therapist that is trained in TMJ massage. She/he will put on gloves and literally massage that TMJ join inside your mouth. It is the freakiest feeling ever but it WORKS. And also learn self massage....how to massage your own faceand neck. Heat helps mine too. Ice is suppose to help, but I HATE the way Ice feels.

 

HTH

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There can be so many causes. There's a disc in there that can get displaced, there can be muscle imbalances, there can be a tight joint capsule, it can be related to posture, it can be due to clenching, etc.

 

Treatment really depends on the cause. Like a night brace isn't necessarily going to help long term if it is related to forward head posture. If the muscles are out of balance, a physical therapist can help you work on opening and closing symmetrically, manually stretching the muscles, etc. If it is a tight joint capsule, there are specific things that can be done for that. So really, I think teasing out the cause is really important. A mouth guard for nighttime can help, but IMO you really want someone to take a comprehensive look at the underlying cause, because treating it is going to work better if you can identify what the underlying cause is.

 

I would look for a Rocabado trained PT and consider a nighttime splint depending on the cause.

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My husband had major TMJ issues that got so advanced he actually had bone loss. He couldn't eat for weeks at the worst. He started therapy with a splint and now has been in orthodonics for two years. (It's funny kissing a 39 yo in braces..lol) He'll graduate to another splint in a few months and have to wear it nightly from now on to make sure everything stays put. It's been very expensive but his case was so bad, and the pain so severe that there weren't any other options.

 

BTW, his was caused by orthodonics that were misplaced as a teenager. It makes me nervous now that my oldest son is in them to correct his bite.:001_huh:

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This was/is the case with me. I went through some really bad patches where the pain was unbearable and I couldn't eat. Dentist wanted to do surgery and have me wear braces too...so I did my own research and now I do very well at managing it with self care. I will look for the info I have on it, but the highlights of what works for me

 

Becoming VERY aware of how I set my jaw during the day. I wasn't clenching or grinding but setting it. If that makes sense. I learned how to hold my mouth open slightly with my tongue between my teeth. I also made sure I didn't sit at computer the wrong way...and that I never put my chin in my hand (I had that habit). I also FORCED myself to relearn a sleep position. I slept with my chin wedged on my jaw. I still sleep that way but I ALWAYS put a pillow between my hand and jaw and work hard to keep my hand away from my face...but the pillow helps a bunch.

 

I learned some relaxation exercises...one silly one that really works is to mouth the word 'plum' over and over.

 

If I feel a TMJ headache coming on (they can put me to bed like a migrain) I begin taking big doses of Ibuprofin (800 mg twice a day---usually 36-48 hours will knock it out).

 

And last but not least massage. Find a massage therapist that is trained in TMJ massage. She/he will put on gloves and literally massage that TMJ join inside your mouth. It is the freakiest feeling ever but it WORKS. And also learn self massage....how to massage your own faceand neck. Heat helps mine too. Ice is suppose to help, but I HATE the way Ice feels.

 

HTH

 

Thank you for this. I cannot tolerate ice either. I think it makes me worse. The sleep thing is a good point. I sleep in a weird position. DH says it looks like my neck was broken and it is too far twisted.

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My husband had major TMJ issues that got so advanced he actually had bone loss. He couldn't eat for weeks at the worst. He started therapy with a splint and now has been in orthodonics for two years. (It's funny kissing a 39 yo in braces..lol) He'll graduate to another splint in a few months and have to wear it nightly from now on to make sure everything stays put. It's been very expensive but his case was so bad, and the pain so severe that there weren't any other options.

 

BTW, his was caused by orthodonics that were misplaced as a teenager. It makes me nervous now that my oldest son is in them to correct his bite.:001_huh:

 

Oh man I'm sorry! My dentist told me I have a good bite. I have never had orthodontics because I never needed them. It is frustrating because this is all because of one long session of work done.

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My doctor gave me some pain pills and muscle relaxers. I was to take them every night for about 2 months and then as needed after that. I also had a procedure to help align my teeth better. The muscle relaxers did the trick for me for 90% of my pain. The procedure I had done helped make the "as needed" go from once every couple of weeks to once every couple of months.

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Oh man I'm sorry! My dentist told me I have a good bite. I have never had orthodontics because I never needed them. It is frustrating because this is all because of one long session of work done.

 

I had the same problem as a result of three extended sessions and numerous numbing shots. The dentist didnt' want to believe that was the cause and kept claiming I clench/grind in my sleep. Somthing my DH of 20 yrs never noticed?

 

Rather than continue the argument, I sought out ENT with jaw specialty. He quickly said it was ligament inflamation that connects from jaw to hyoid bone. The tell was that there was a spot in the middle the side of my neck that I could point to as intermittent, sharp pain. Eventually the pain was in the jaw joint and left temple, worse at night. A ten day course of prednisone cured me. The second step would have been PT.

 

Dentist wanted me to wear night guard for the rest of my life....

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I had the same problem as a result of three extended sessions and numerous numbing shots. The dentist didnt' want to believe that was the cause and kept claiming I clench/grind in my sleep. Somthing my DH of 20 yrs never noticed?

 

Rather than continue the argument, I sought out ENT with jaw specialty. He quickly said it was ligament inflamation that connects from jaw to hyoid bone. The tell was that there was a spot in the middle the side of my neck that I could point to as intermittent, sharp pain. Eventually the pain was in the jaw joint and left temple, worse at night. A ten day course of prednisone cured me. The second step would have been PT.

 

Dentist wanted me to wear night guard for the rest of my life....

 

That is exactly what I have. And actually I had 3 sessions too, all within the same few months so it was basically a 3 month dental session.

 

I get the same sharp pain somewhere on the left side of my neck. It's like a sharp stab here and there.

 

I called my dentist and left a message for him this morning.

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I had the same problem as a result of three extended sessions and numerous numbing shots. The dentist didnt' want to believe that was the cause and kept claiming I clench/grind in my sleep. Somthing my DH of 20 yrs never noticed?

 

Rather than continue the argument, I sought out ENT with jaw specialty. He quickly said it was ligament inflamation that connects from jaw to hyoid bone. The tell was that there was a spot in the middle the side of my neck that I could point to as intermittent, sharp pain. Eventually the pain was in the jaw joint and left temple, worse at night. A ten day course of prednisone cured me. The second step would have been PT.

 

Dentist wanted me to wear night guard for the rest of my life....

 

:iagree:

 

I had a similar experience and the dentist was convinced I was grinding...they made me a temp mouthpiece but I never felt it helped AT ALL because I DON'T grind my teeth in my sleep. In fact, I wake up feeling better than when I go to sleep. My pain, inflammation comes after a long day of hard work (such as painting or yard work, or mopping) or stress. Stress is a killer for my TMJ.

 

I wish I had gone to an ENT. I never even thot of that.

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