Anyone have TMJ??

[Deleted]

I woke up Monday with jaw pain on the right side and it's getting worse. I grind my teeth at night and have a night guard, but never had pain before. I have all of the symptoms of TMJ, pain in jaw joint when chewing, headache, teeth feel misaligned, etc. From what I have read, there's not much that can be done and that sometimes no treatment is best.

Do you see a dr for TMJ? WHat do they do? I will give it another week to see if it goes away. Tylenol doesn't do anything. I see my acupuncturist on Tuesday and will mention it to her, to see if she can help with the pain. Anyone have any tips for the pain or experiences of what helped them? TIA!

[greekypie]

I did when I was a teenager. The only thing I did was put a hot washcloth on it during the day time when it bothered me most. That helped a ton, believe it or not. It eventually went away.

[lys]

See your dentist.
Was your night guard custom made for you or one of those "doi it yourself" jobs?
Do you sleep on the side on which you have the pain?

[Deleted]

Yes.

I had a nightguard when I was in high school (that I got from the orthodontist). Nowadays I don't bother to treat it because it doesn't bother me that much. I think a lot comes from stress anyway.

[Deleted]

Oct 5, 2012 7:48:52 GMT -5 lys said:

See your dentist.
Was your night guard custom made for you or one of those "doi it yourself" jobs?
Do you sleep on the side on which you have the pain?

Yes, my dentist did my mouth guard. I sleep on the opposite side of the pain. Tried sleeping on my back, but who knows what I do when I am asleep.

[casmgn]

Yes, a few months ago it was really bad. A few things that help - holding warm salt water in your mouth for a minute or two - this forces your jaw to relax. You can also massage it - find your jaw bone with your thumb and index finger and then rub back and forth as though you were miming for money, if that makes sense. You can also try to find a masseuse who specifically treats TMJ.

[emilyinchile]

Acupuncture really helped mine, so hopefully that will be good for you too. Otherwise the hot washcloth/heating pad idea is a good one. I also try to massage the muscles around there when it's really bad, which luckily isn't often now that I have a mouthguard.

[my4girls]

Oct 5, 2012 7:54:07 GMT -5 v said:

Yes.

I had a nightguard when I was in high school (that I got from the orthodontist). Nowadays I don't bother to treat it because it doesn't bother me that much. I think a lot comes from stress anyway.

change HS to college and this is me. the night guard helped me so much. I was grinding my teeth so bad in my sleep I ground all the way through my first night guard. Eventually it got a lot better and I stopped wearing the night guard but I have been noticing lately it's coming back and I know it's my stress, I can feel my jaw hurting when I wake up from clenching/ grinding

[AAM2012]

Most will treat with a night guard and tell you to recognize if you are locking your jaw during the day, stop chewing gum and other chewy candies. Surgery is the last resort but a LOT of times it makes it worse.

[Deleted]

Do you usually get pain in spells?? How long does the pain last? It's taking a lot of effort to get my teeth to touch on one side. I guess I'll just let it run its course..

[ellipses84]

Have you gone to a chiropractor regularly? I used to grind my teeth and have jaw pain, but I just realized I haven't had it in a long time. I see a chiro regularly. Mine was always stress related and I have a very stressful job, but I really had to learn to turn off my brain and relax so I could sleep better at night. Try that yoga/meditation thing where you lie there and focus on relaxing different parts of your body.

[kellbell191]

Yes. Mine got somewhat better when my wisdom teeth were removed. Its tolerable with the night guard but I might be getting braces again to realign and see if that helps.

Mine is partially a grinding issue and partially the way my teeth meet when I closed my mouth

[rex]

Have you gone to the dentist? Start there.

[aliciar6]

I have had it for years, tried all kinds of things. Night guards never helped, I know mine is caused by stress and clenching. I don't grind my teeth at all.

My normal doc tried neurontin, that didn't help. My dentist and primary care doc put me on a very low dose of valium to help reduce stress.

My oral surgeon was a waste, but I found out that while nothing is misalined, there is some evidence of arthritis and my jaw pops a lot.

What all of them said was no gum or chew foods and to stay active and exercise as that helped me relax.

[caramia17]

Oct 5, 2012 10:09:30 GMT -5 operagirl said:

Sorry that you are in pain. See your dentist. Try Aleeve, as too much Tylenol can raise liver enzymes.

If you can, see a dentist who specializes in TMJ. If you live near a dental school, they should have a TMJ clinic.

I'm the "worst case scenario " of TMJ with lots of experience. Usually, well made night guards and bite alignment work fine. When you open your mouth wide, do you hear a click? Two clicks? A professional can choose the right treatment and you should be fine.

I agree with this. In many cases, there are teams of orthodontists, oral and maxillofacial surgeons and prosthodontists who work together at dental schools to treat really bad cases. They can investigate if it is muscular or skeletal based upon 3-D imaging and examinations (they may do injections to isolate certain areas) and may recommend a new guard/splint, physical therapy and/or massage, or surgical treatment options. I am sorry you are having problems with your TMJ, that's frustrating.

Are you taking any new medications or have new stressors? Some meds can increase bruxism (nocturnal grinding).

[GailGoldie]

I have it. My dentist did some tests and my insurance actually approved to pay for 2 night guards for me- one to help prevent grinding and one to help my jaw get aligned better. The dentist said it is rare for insurance to pay for it.

tylenol doesn't work for crap for most people - - take a few advil (4 of them is rx strength, take with prevacid or zantac to protect your stomach from ulcers). Advil is much better on pain.

[GailGoldie]

forgot to mention- that it did help reduce some of my migraines when i had the mouth guard. I don't wear it anymore b/c by accident I shrunk it ( put it in boiling water last year when we had strep in our house for the billlionth time, and was trying to boil everything that touched my mouth... didn't work well with the plastic on the guard!)

[jenni232323]

I'm wearing my night guard right now.

The first dentist I saw said the only option was to basically break and realign my jaw. Um, no thanks.
Then the 2nd didn't have any options.
Finally, my current dentist fitted me with custom top guard (custom like dentures, $300). So far so good. Ifs been since Dec. My jaw rarely ever 'pops' anymore, minimal headaches and soreness.
My chiropractor also helped with something that she called an activator. It was like a pressure point at my jaw and she would have me open and close my law while she felt the alignment and use the tool where needed. She also said a masseuse would actually massage inside my mouth at the jaw muscles.