Tmj

loriwells · 03-18-2007, 07:31 PM

Does anyone have this or had it in the past. It is a combination jaw and ear problem. I've had it off and on for a month but now I am thinking I am going to have to head to the doctor. I was hoping to wait till April when I have my physical but thinking I am going to have to go ahead and bite the bullet so to speak. I can hardly open my mouth and it hurts to chew on my right side plus that side of my jaw and my teeth are getting numb as are my front teeth. I read I could take ibruphophen and I have been taking that for pain, but does anyone have any suggestions in the meantime till I can make it into see my doctor. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Lori

Jashobeam · 03-18-2007, 07:50 PM

I have read heat or cold on the jaw might help. I hope the pain goes away soon!

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/tmj...355/DSECTION=6

threeblessings · 03-18-2007, 08:36 PM

I think I had that before. I never went to the doc, but I had so much pain. I could barely open my mouth. I looked it up on the net, and it sounded like what I had. It eventually went away on it's own. But boy did it hurt! I hope yours stops soon.

MargyP · 03-19-2007, 12:54 AM

I have had TMJ for years. It is painful & can be embarassing. Sometimes when I'm out to dinner with friends, someone will ask "What is that sound?" And it is my jaw, clicking away while I chew.
I take ibuprofren for it. I also have found some success with massage therapy- my therapist actually puts on latex gloves & massages inside my mouth. It hurts like hell at the time but gives me relief for a few weeks. Some strategies I have found that helped:
No gum chewing
No eating extra chewy foods (taffy, jerky, bagels, etc.)
No jaw clenching (I have found I do this when concentrating & when driving sometimes. It is unconscious & I have to try to catch it & relax)

I also think my posture has something to do with it- when I stand up straight & roll my shoulders back during the day it seems to hurt less at night. HTH

Jhawkfan83 · 03-19-2007, 01:44 AM

Ibuprofen is the only thing I could think of that would help. It helps with your swelling & pain. If you are swelling up- please, oh please... only put ice on it. No heat- that will make it worse!

Mrs. Mcboozlin · 03-19-2007, 01:54 PM

Hello,
I get Tmj a lot. it can be very painful.
I also work in a dental office..

* Do not chew gum
* Take advil (helps with the swelling of the joints)
* Dont sleep on the side that bothers you the most..

I wear a night guard at night. Really does help , when i remember t put it in!

Good Luck!

JosieFB · 03-19-2007, 05:25 PM

In recent years I had a lot of soreness in my jaw. It would sometimes be difficult to open my mouth to eat or to chew. About a year ago I had an extremely painful episode and around the same time I chipped my two lower front teeth by clinching or grinding in my sleep. The dentist suggest a bite guard, and it has worked wonders. I wear it every night. The pain went away after about two months, and it has not come back.

flamenca · 03-21-2007, 12:06 PM

I had TMJ, and after getting a very expensive bite splint that made things even worse (spreading TMJ from one side to BOTH), and a very restrictive diet (no salad, no meat, no chewing gum, nothing that would actually make me CHEW anything), in the end it was muscle relaxers that helped me. Heavy duty meds, and you need to be very careful as they tend to be addictive. But they were the only thing that (after using them for a few days) managed to relax the jaw muscles and thus relieved the pain. By staying off the chewing gum since then (it's been 8 years) and watching for the early signs of jaw muscles tensing up, I have had a day here and there where I had to take one muscle relaxer pill for one night to "cure" the problem, and since 2002 I haven't needed any.

Furthermore, to avoid "teeth grinding" at night, my doc advised me to kind of suck in my cheek a little bit and move it between my upper and lower jaw, when going to bed. As you start "grinding", you bite on your cheek, it hurts and you wake up (or not), but at any rate you won't be grinding and aggravating your TMJ that way. it becomes second nature after a while, and I still do it.

In my case, the TMJ was strcitly stress related as it turned out - and not the stress at the moment of the pain, but the pain occurred after the stress was over (moving from Europe to the States while my mom was in the hospital having breast cancer, lots of financial troubles and the fact that I was a "non-existent" person in the US as I had no credit history, and no social security number due to a special visa .... stuff like that). When I had finally settled, had an apartment, a car, gotten used to my new job and the city I lived in, on my first Thanksgiving Day in the US, the TMJ started. By now, after doing lots of research and having had a course in autogenic training and stress management, I know that this is normal: The body reacts (i,e. takes revenge) at the moment of rest, when it isn't required to "perform in high gear" anymore.

So do go see a doctor and tell him about your problem. Think about possible stress factors in your life and try to find a way to reduce them if you can.
My personal advice: don't let them talk you into paying for a 900$ bite splint that's uncomfortable, makes it impossible to speak normally, and has as effect only more jaw cramping!

Good luck!
Tina

JosieFB · 03-21-2007, 04:19 PM

My bite gaurd was under $400, not $900. It's not really a TMJ splint, but more like a mouthpiece that athletes wear. It is custom molded to my lower teeth. It is a very slick plastic, so that my upper teeth slide around on it if I grind. Also, the little bit of extra height it give my lower teeth prevents me from being able to clinch my jaw muscles. After I chipped my front two lower middle teeth in my sleep, I figured it was a good investment. Crowns and repairing broken teeth can get expensive. I've read that they don't work for everyone, but it certainly worked for me.