TMJ and face mask

[Katya3]

Hi all, as well as migraine I also suffer from tempro mandibular jaw , basically jaw on one side becomes extremely painful and sensitive to hot and cold, Takes about a week of soft food, massage and painkillers to sort it out again. I haven;t had an attack for ages but after a visit to A+E wearing a mask for 2 hrs I have just had a really bad attack., Has angyone else found that wearing a face mask triggers jaw pain?

[Val135]

Wearing a face mask for a long period triggers my migraine so I wouldn’t be surprised if it triggered your jaw pain.

[bamboo89]

I suffer with TMJ too, but mask wearing has not aggravated it - I've been wearing one for about 6 hours at a time two days running every 3 weeks, with extra wearings in between if I need to go out. I can't imagine why a mask would aggravate it,quite honestly - what aggravates mine is stress, because I assume I'm holding my jaw stiff or something when I'm stressed. So I guess if you're stressed about wearing a mask, or stressed because you're concerned about avoiding Covid when outside your home, that might trigger it, but I doubt the intrinsic nature of a mask is aggravating things, UNLESS you're wearing a proper, PPE standard, tight fitting FFP3 (N95 type) mask with tight straps that go round the back of your head. These can be quite uncomfortable over time.

Miriam

[Katya3 in reply to bamboo89]

Well A+E is a stressful place so this is quite possible, I have experimented with a scarf which feels much better than a mask

[bamboo89 in reply to Katya3]

Cotton or silk or fine material (polyester), folded, do a reasonable job,but don't use a fleece type scarf - tests have shown you're more likely to pick up the virus using one of those than you are without a face covering at all...

[Cally01]

Hi, I totally agree with Miriam I work in schools . I have TMJD botox is really effective into tmj.

Cally

[Onthemove1971]

I went to my dentist and she make me a night guard so I do not grind my teeth when I sleep. I wear it every night so I do not have pain in my jaw any more.

Good luck