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Tmj I think

Vannessasedillo profile image
18 Replies

How did anybody Kno they have tmj ?what doctor did you go to?

Did you have chronic headaches like your bones and muscles where squeezing you?and shoulders and neck issue? And jaw hurts well pretty much the whole face?

Did you ever get your life back to normal no more tmj problems?

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Vannessasedillo profile image
Vannessasedillo
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18 Replies

tmj?

Mary-intussuception profile image
Mary-intussuception in reply to

Temporomandibular Joint (Disease / Dysfunction )

Agora1 profile image
Agora1

Hi Vannessa, the answer is "yes" to everything. I went to my

dentist who made a mouth guard as well as had some physical therapy.

And yes it did go away. xx

Vannessasedillo profile image
Vannessasedillo in reply toAgora1

Really you made me have tears of joy rn did you go to a regular dentist or a cosmetic dentist?😢❤️🙏and okay hopefully I find physical therapy for it it need it soon 😞❤️

Agora1 profile image
Agora1 in reply toVannessasedillo

My regular dentist. TMJ can throw everything off. The power behind each

bite that is misaligned can cause horrendous muscular contraction headaches.

Shoulder and neck included. it was a nightmare. But it does go away once the

issue is addressed. I wish you well. I've been there xx

Vannessasedillo profile image
Vannessasedillo in reply toAgora1

Thank you so much your the best ❤️how long did you deal with it 😞?it made me mess up my neck really bad now I have a neck spasm from stretching out my neck too much and hurts my back so I take Tylenol because I don't want to get high on diazepam 🤦

Agora1 profile image
Agora1 in reply toVannessasedillo

Unfortunately, I went years without knowing what was causing my headaches

and neck distress. The neck spasms which are trigger points can produce "referred" pain in the temple, back of head and jaws. I found that hot wet

wash clothes placed on the upper shoulders, back of neck and lower part

of the face helped and became a daily ritual. Ironically, when I went for

physical therapy, they used the same heat paks.

I also had occupational therapy which showed me ways I could break up those

spasms that were causing the pain.. My only suggestion is to be careful with

any pain relievers. If used daily, you can end up suffering "rebound" headaches

and the Tylenol etc will not work. I wish you well Vannessa... :) xx

Dahlia36 profile image
Dahlia36

Agora1 gave good advice about a mouth guard. Another thing you can try for your neck and back pain is a tens unit. My friend got one she ordered from Amazon and she swears by it. I also have a friend who sought relief for her TMD through a chiropractor.

Yes. I bought a mouth guard and have been using them every night for years. It really helps. All my bottom front teeth are loose because of it and held in by a wire. Do something or they will fall out.

Ripley7 profile image
Ripley7

I only discovered mine maybe 10 years years ago when I’d had a horrible spasm in my jaw and I could barely open it. It kind of freaked me out.

It seemed to start getting better when the dentist made me a custom mouthguard to wear nightly. I have a tendency to grind my teeth in my sleep and unconsciously clench my jaw throughout the day.

Seemed to give me relief until I got braces and couldn’t wear the mouth guard anymore. My retainer seemed to do well too when I wore it but I wasn’t good with sticking to that and now the retainer doesn’t fit either.

That was probably about 6 years ago and unfortunately I’ve ignored it since. Now both sides of my jaw pop loudly when I chew. I have a dentist appt at the end of September and I dread what they might say after ignoring it for so long.

My sister had a similar issue with her jaw and she has to have tmj joint surgery. Her cartilage had deteriorated pretty bad.

I’m going to check into the idea of the a universal mouthguard in the meantime myself- might help while I wait in my appt.

Anyway I wouldn’t let it go for too much longer unchecked. Keep us posted!😊

topaz1968 profile image
topaz1968

I have been struggling with some symptoms too. It is strange because I know I grind my teeth during the day. It is a habit that I don't notice sometimes. Probably due to anxiety. I have a pain behind my ear and the back of my neck. I was really worried because I still don't know what it is, but I had thought it might be TMJ.

How do they diagnose it and rule other things out? Motrin does help, but I still feel it. It does not hurt to eat or chew. I went to the doctor because I thought I had an ear or sinus infection but he ruled that out.

It has been a few weeks and I am thinking I should either go to an ENT or the dentist.

Vannessasedillo profile image
Vannessasedillo in reply totopaz1968

Try to go to a dentist that has experience with tmj I'ma do that

Btdtx3 profile image
Btdtx3

I was taking sinus aspirin 4 times a day--your jaw hurts, the dentist will take x-rays. I had surgery on both sides then once more on one side!! It helped--im glad I had surgery to fix it!!

Samson1953 profile image
Samson1953

I had many of the same symptoms n my Dr asked if i chewed gum. N yes everyday. She told me to stop for a few weeks n it actually helped a lot. I got the teeth guard but havent used it yet since it hasn't really bothered me. I do miss my gum. lol

Agora1 profile image
Agora1 in reply toSamson1953

I miss my gum too :) xx

MH504 profile image
MH504

I had TMJ in my late teens. Never got it diagnosed or treated but I’m sure it was TMJ. Clicking and popping especially on right side of jaw, and when it got severe it was very painful and I couldn’t open my mouth wide enough to eat many foods. I’d rub my jaw and try to eat a lot of anti inflammatory foods, work on relaxation etc and it more or less went away on its own. By the time I entered college, I almost forgot about it. Flared up again briefly in my early 20’s but never that badly. Now I’m 33 and have a little clicking sometimes but I don’t event think about it. So yes, life goes on. In my case though I’m afraid the same tension just shows up in other body parts (struggled with lower back pain/spasms more recently) so we have to try to work on the root cause if it is anxiety/tension related. I think acupuncture/chiropractor are worth a shot if you like that kind of thing. I’ve read that in extreme cases there is a surgery they can do but the risks didn’t seem worth exploring for me even when it was at its worst. Take care.

Vannessasedillo profile image
Vannessasedillo in reply toMH504

Thank you I want to get a MRI done first then go to the spa dentist see if they can help me because I been going through alot spine/head/nerves /axiety/stress /back well everything jaw clicking jaw pain 😢

MH504 profile image
MH504 in reply toVannessasedillo

Good luck! I’m lucky mine didn’t come with the bad headache. I find that if you press your tongue towards the top of your mouth right at the inside of your top front teeth, it forces you to relax your jaw a bit. Just something to try from time to time while you wait for more help- I wouldn’t expect it to work miracles but it helps me realize how tense I always am (jaw clenched, shoulders tight and raised) and I’m trying to work on that!

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