Anybody here deal with TMJ?

firefightersgal

I'm pretty sure I'll be diagnosed with TMJ issues when I see the dentist on Monday.  I filled out a survey as a new patient and answered "yes" to all of the TMJ questions.  It only started about 6 months ago (although I've always been able to "pop" my jaw--without pain until now) and it keeps getting worse.  I was just eating ice cream and could barely chew without having tons of pain.  It is only on one side.

I'll be googling it, but I was curious if anybody else has it and what you do for it.  Thanks!

sooosie

I have it and when it gets bad I wear a night guard.  Otherwise I take ibuprofin and it seems to help.  Mine is only on one side too.  Dental appointments are rough when I have to have my mouth open for awhile...I take lots of ibu then.

K-I-S-S-I-N-G

I had it really bad growing up but now as an adult it seems to have gone away. I always had issues with popping (especially if I opened too wide it would pop out of place.) Sometimes it would lock and I would have to push my jaw with my hand to get it to lock into place.......gross.....I'm glad it went away! I had to wear some type of mouth guard thing for awhile.

gingerthebee

It might not be TMJ.  I pop my jaw and have had horrible pain on one side.  I grind my teeth at night and had a filling that was causing my bite to not align properly.  A night guard and some filing fixed it.

marrymemylove

I don't want to wreck my anonymity but a very close family member used to be on the Pain Clinic at a major teaching hospital here. A group of Drs (mainly ENT - I think you call them otorhinolarygologists!, maxillo-facial and neurologists) who would take referrals from the public hospital for patients with TMJ pain. This was back in, I don't know, the 1980s. My relative was one of the max-fac specialists and designed one of the splints that's commonly used here (made zero money from it as was employed by the hospital!).

Anyway - she would say - its really common and very underdiagnosed. It can end up with people going to the Dr for things seemingly unrelated which are treated as the primary problem incorrectly because GPs are not very good at max-fac stuff (they get very little training in it).

She used to have great results with her splint when worn ata night.

GL! 

Brideofranken

sooosie:

I have it and when it gets bad I wear a night guard.  Otherwise I take ibuprofin and it seems to help.  Mine is only on one side too.  Dental appointments are rough when I have to have my mouth open for awhile...I take lots of ibu then.

Ditto this, and be wary of a dentist that wants to sign you up for surgery right away- I thought mine was WAY worse than it is, my dentist of 23 years had me all ready to have my jaw shaved down and rewired, but I put it off, and after I moved and found a new dentist, he said it was not that bad at ALL and that surgery is a drastic measure for TMJ...bummer.

It is super sore sometimes, and other times I go a long while without remembering that I have it.

Carolyn6e

It bothers me some, and I grind my teeth at night which is a huge issue for me.  Anyway, I got a custom-fit nightguard (the ones you can buy at a drugstore aren't supposed to be good) and wear that at night.  It's not too terrible - I can talk (mostly) with it and it's clear, although it is a bit thicker because it keeps me from grinding through it.  )  Anyway, I wear it every night and the pain has totally ceased - if I ever forget it, I'm in major pain the next day.  It's totally worth it to me!

marrymemylove

Ditto BoF - my Max-Fac relative has never ever seen a case where surgery was warranted (though she has seen them after they were done). And she was with Pain Clinic like, 15 years! 

Ivana_Stolichnaya

I have to wear a night guard...though I'm not very good with doing that.  The dentist has noticed that I must grind my teeth at night, and I do notice that I clench my jaw a lot.

About a year ago I was having trouble with my right side clicking  and I couldn't open my mouth very wide.  It's gotten better since then.