TMJ Disorder
 

Does anyone have TMJ disorder? I have had problems with TMJD since about 2000. I had a TMJ Arthroscopy done in 2002 with very minimal relief and then it all got bad again.

I'm thinking I need to go on a soft food diet for a while. I hate taking tylonol and stuff....but I can't find relief for it otherwise.

Anyone else?

I'm sure you have already considered this, but my mom has TMJ and she finds relief in a nightly retainer. She talked to her dentist about it.
You've probably been down that road, i just thought i should throw it out there.

Yeah, been there tried that....made it even worse. :(

I do. What is your current issue? Jaw pain? Tylenol never worked for me. I took Ibuprofen. I had inflammation and Ibuprofen is an anti-inflammatory.

I had biting and grinding (bruxism) as a child. The dentist made me a bite guard to protect my teeth. As I got older the bruxism got worse. The pain in my right side jaw got really bad. About 15 -17 years ago I was referred to an Oral Surgeon that specialized in TMJ. He did a MRI and found out that by then my jaw (right side) was out of place and would not stay in place. I think we tried some type of manipulation/therapy but nothing gave relief. He operated on my jaw to secure it in place. They also did a new bite guard. He tried me on muscle relaxers back then, but I could not take them (I could not function the next day). I still have bruxism, specifically I tend to bite down as hard as I can in my sleep. I'm sure I also grind, but I have woke up with my jaw clenched tightly. I always wear my bite guard with the idea that it does protect the jaw and teeth. It doesn't "fix" anything, just protects what you have. I have tried the muscle relaxers again. I will use them off and on. I don't know that they really help for the TMJ. They have helped with continuous neck pain from a car wreck though. Stress will make my neck flare up and I am sure contributes to the bruxism.

Sorry about the book. :o The only other thing that I have heard of helping some people is an occlusal adjustment.

Well I had absolutely NO problems with grinding/clenching or my jaw in general until I got my wisdom teeth pulled in 1999. I was sedated and when I woke up, I knew there was a problem. I would open my mouth a tiny bit, it would snap, then open the rest of the way. Same thing with closing, I would close it, my jaw would snap, then it would close the rest of the way. I repeatedly saw the dental specialist who pulled my wisdom teeth and he denied any damage when pulling my wisdom teeth. He is the one who did the arthroscopy. He scraped a lot of scar tissue out of my jaw joint and injected some anti-inflamitory in there. Now my jaw just barely opens and I get severe pain in front of and underneath my ear but only on my left side. A couple of days ago my jaw hurt really really bad and my left arm was completely numb for the entire day. If I place my fingers right in front of my ear and open my mouth I can feel a lump on the right side, but nothing on the left...not sure what it means...but it's odd, even my doctor said it's strange.

I would try to get an appointment with a specialist. Maybe you can get a MRI and they can see what's going on in there. It doesn't sound right.

Wow! My whole family, darn near, has TMJ. I thought mine was bad (burning in ear, can't eat beef jerky, raw carrots suck butt) but I guess it could be a lot worse! Um, has this gotten worse as you all have gotten older? Do I have to worry about it progressing?

It hasn't got any worse no. I'm only 28. It sucks. And the crappy thing is, even though it's a JAW problem, it gets covered under my dental plan, and my dental plan considers it under the orthodontic part so it's only 60% covered. So even though we pay not a single penny for our medical....I have to pay to get my jaw fixed. I've booked an appointment with a doctor here who specializes in TMJD but I'm looking at paying $500 out of pocket for all of the testing to figure out exactly what the problem is.

Sorry, I didn't look at your pic very close, you don't look over your age, lol.

I know that half of a cyclobenzaprine and some catnip-tea works really well for me, w/o knocking me out. Trust me, catnip works WONDERS on any muscle aches, including my TMJ.

It's ok...I've got a wide range of guesses for my age. ;)

Catnip tea is awesome. We had a big catnip plant in our garden and I would give half to the cats and dry half for tea. haha.

i advise you (especially if you have health insurance) to see a psychiatrist and get counseling. do understand that it does take time to find the right medication but dont give up. i went through like 4 or 5 antidepressants before i found one that worked.
To gain more information on TMJ you can use tmjremedyadvice.com

hi dear,
For person suffering from TMJ diet should be Soup, Soft sandwich
Noodles, Lasagna. If you need more information you may take help from tmjremedyadvice.com

I have TMJ and it seems to be a catchall diagnosis for any jaw pain. My jaw has clicked since I was young. I DO grind my teeth but bought an over the counter mouthguard and it works really well. When I get achey I just eat softer food for a few days. It's my understanding that there really is no dependable treatment for this. There are some experimental treatments but from what I have read - some people are worse after. My insurance won't cover anything for TMJ issues.

Hi. Have been having this problem for about 40 years. It comes and goes. It started AGAIN, after my last trip to the dentist. I could hardly get my mouth open and eating was painful.

A couple of weeks ago, I was at my Chiropractors and asked if they ever adjusted jaws and he told me all that time. The worst time is AFTER a dental session. Anyway, he did do the adjustment and it has improved so much. I can eat again (which is good AND bad lol), but mostly my ear is not hurting. I will have him do another adjustment on it when I go back again.

I have had TMJ problems since my teens. I ground my eye teeth down to the point that nerves were exposed, and I thought I had cavities. I was first treated when I was 23 (I'm 46 now). I went through physical therapy, day guards, and night guards. Eventually I was able to maintain with little pain by just wearing the nightguard every night. It came back with really bad pain again when I was 38. I went back through the physical therapy, day guard, night guard, and also orthodontia to fix the fact that I had a "rocking bite." I could either touch my back teeth together or my front teeth, but not both. When I was almost ready for my braces to come off, I was rearended, which caused a severe whiplash injury. Whiplash causes TMJ; I've discovered that acute TMJ is WORSE than chronic TMJ. I went back through all the treatments again - this time with whiplash treatment on top of it. Now, my TMJ is pretty pain free most of the time. I do wear a retainer/biteplate every night. The disk on my left side has slipped out a couple of times, and it pushes out when I open my mouth - not a normal thing to have happen. When the whiplash flares back up, the TMJ tightens up. It will be that way for the rest of my life. You need to see a TMJ specialist who can help you get to a maintenance regimen so you can be comfortable. Sorry this is so long! I really feel for people with this malady.
Chrys Dayley