Jaw problems incl.TMJ

[chelseagirl]

Hey Fluffym,

Yeah my jaw gets very stiff and painful.

Thanks Nemonie i will look into that

[shirleytx7]

Oh my jaw hurts so bad I barely know what to do with myself. For months It has clicked and popped and kind of gets stuck but today it hurts so bad that I can not function. I have tried heat and pain killers (Tylenol and hydrocodone) and have had no relief. Any ideas? For those who have seen doctors for jaw pain and/or temporomandibular joint problems what type of doctor/specialist do you see?

[paige]

mod edit - quote of previous post removed as not needed

I couldn't open my mouth wide enough to clean my teeth in the morning or wide enough to even take a bite of a banana. My dentist told me to eat soft foods, not yawn, not eat chewy food and get an impression done for a mouth guard to wear at night as she said I was grinding my teeth. As there was no guarantee the mouth guard would work I didn't get one. My jaw just ached and felt very sore,it felt like I had ear ache, tooth ache and swollen glands too. I had acupuncture and massage in my jaw by an osteopath and it helped me and really did ease the pain. I also became aware that I was clenching my jaw alot have to be careful now about not eating much of anything that overworks my jaw.

[Rachel1985]

Hi,

I've recently started developing problems with my jaw, and it's really getting me down. I'd just gotten to a point where I was getting much more stable, had found a good private physio,and have been doing daily pilates. The last couple of times i've seen my dentist she's commented that I appear to be grinding my teeth at night, but recently i've been waking up with my jaw clenched really tightly. Over the bank holiday weekend, I woke up in the night with sharp pain in my jaw/mouth and thought I had a tooth infection or something. I managed to see my dentist on Tuesday who felt the muscles were tight, and gave me an injection of local anaesthetic in my upper gum which did ease it temporarily.

On Wednesday this week I saw the Maxillofacial surgeon - though he was an 'associative specialist' not sure what that means. My dentist had referred me a little while ago (approx 6 weeks) to seek him opinion on whether because of the EDS/HMS this was worsening the jaw issue, and whether they might want to explore other options, or whether to go ahead with a guard. I was annoyed that he didn't seem to have treated (or know much about) my condition, and so couldn't answer many of my questions. He felt my muscles in my jaw were over-developed from grinding and clenching so much, which I agree with, and like others, told me to 'rest my jaw' by not eating chewy foods, or taking bites of large stuff like apples, crusty baguettes, nor crunchy stuff like granola etc. He also advised when yawning to place a fist under my chin to stop it opening too far. My neck is always really tight, though sport's massage and physio does help but only temporarily. My physio has also noticed that i'm tight around the front of the throat/side of throat area (interestingly one of these areas in terms of facia slings/chains is linked to weak glut activation). However since having a small filling on Tuesday, then having my mouth wide open for the guard to be made, the front of my throat feels so tight that it hurts to talk, swallow, and is making me really concerned - is anyone else getting this? For the first time in quite some time I just feel really fed up and frustrated that whatever I do makes no difference, I get one thing sorted and stronger and something else flares up.

Rachel

[paige]

I get one thing sorted and stronger and something else flares up

.

If it is any comfort to you I know how you feel, even the osteopath said to me it is one thing after another with you isn't it. When I am stressed I clench my jaw and have to keep reminding myself not to. I have found that not clenching my jaw, being careful about what I eat, not opening my mouth too wide, having my jaw massaged and having acupuncture has helped me. It really is a miserable condition isn't it?

[Rachel1985]

I've been speaking to a friend who's a clinical hypnotherapist - she's said that hypnosis can be really effective for grinding - i've been recommended someone locally (apparently go through the British Association for Clinical Hypnosis - if anyone's interested), which is what i'm going to try as my friend doesn't live nearby.

Today i've noticed I can hardly open my mouth wide enough to eat - anyone else get this? How do I make it ease up? Over the last week I took the low dose muscle relaxant for 4 nights as recommended by my GP which eased it a bit, but the tightness at the front of my throat didn't completely ease. I've had physio too which released it out but it's gone back to being tight, and now I can't open my mouth properly since this morning! I'm not sure how wisdom teeth impact on this whole thing? Mine arent' properly through, but the whole left side inside my mouth is really sore, feels like they're pushing through a little at the moment, but the bit that connects your lower jaw to the top bit feels really inflammed, and hurts when food or any fluids touch it, but it's not a sore throat (v.hard to explain!), and i'm really tender under my jaw on that side where my glands are. I feel a bit stupid going to the GP and saying I can't open my mouth much - I can comfortably only get one finger width in there without it hurting - last week it was 3 finger-width opening - any ideas?!

[sheppeyescapee]

My jaw has been really painful the last few months, it goes through phases of being bad. When it is bad I can barely open my mouth without being in a lot of pain, there is a lot of crunching, popping, grinding and my left ear feels full. It's been going on for about 15 years now

[Tess]

I get this problem too - it feels like a bad toothache or earache type pain, which seems to come and go, and can last from a day, to a few weeks! Over xmas i had it for 6 weeks, everytime i ate or drank anything hot i'd have ear/tooth ache for about an hour. I went to the doctor and he said there was no infection in my ear, and then i tried the dentist, and there was nothing wrong with my teeth - so i assume it is my jaw that is the problem. It is quite painful, and gets me down after a while - it seems to be aggravated by loud music and things like that too - does anyone else find that too?

[Rachel1985]

Hi, i'm getting similiar pains/sensations - I've been to the dentist quite a lot over the last month, and each time my teeth are find (apart from grinding so much at night that I've damaged the same filling 3 times in a month). I have this odd ear ache now, and my mouth feels inflammed but it's not. My dentist says the grinding causes the jaw muscles to go into a sort of spasm, and that apparently local anesthetic can temporarily break the cycle (once it works that is!). Saw my doctor today, who has agreed it is muscular tightness/spasms causing my jaw to become so painful to open. Feeling thoroughly fed up at the moment

[Tess]

Can anyone suggest any exercises or anything to relax the jaw? I'm having a flare up of this problem at the moment, and my whole jaw just feels tense and achy, as well as the constant earache - and i thought maybe relaxing the jaw muscles somehow might help?
Thanks,
Tess

[Rachel1985]

I'm doing the following to try and relax it:

-Gently massaging my face with cleanser for about 5 minutes in little circles.
-exercises to relax my neck mucles - lying on the bed or floor with a flat pillow under my head, knees bent with feet flat on the floor. Then keeping neutral spine, imagine you have a pencil on your nose pointing up to the ceiling, and slowly 'draw' very small circles with your nose, do for as long as it confortable, and remember to switch direction and rotate the other way. You can either keep the circles very small, or slightly increase the size.
-In the same position you can also gently turn your head from side to side, imagining the movement coming from the back of your head - from ear to ear. Then try it but imagine it coming from the front - temple to temple, just go as far as is comfortable.

My dentist gave me a jaw remedial exercise sheet, that said to place something warm on the side of the jaw for 5 minutes, then place your hand flat under your chin, and very gently open your mouth a little bit, then repeat. Then the same but with your hand flat against the right side of your jaw/cheek, and gently move your jaw into your hand, then repeat the other side. I've been told to do 5 of each each day

[Tess]

Oh thanks, that's really helpful - I'll give it a try!

[Little_Miss_Whoops]

I just posted this about my TMJ treatment in the headaches/migraines topic and thought it would be very relevant to those with jaw issues too (of course):


I had all the fancy TMJ tests done at my neuromuscular dentist with all sorts of wires and gizmo's attached to me to track my jaw movements and tension in the different muscles. It showed my jaw is definitely the cause of my head/neck/jaw pain, and I also had a cone beam CT (I think that's what it was called) which showed that my jaw is sitting incorrectly in the joint and it also subluxes every time I open my mouth! Yikes! The CT showed that my wacky jaw has also caused my C1 and C2 vertebrae to become twisted which would also contribute to all the tension and pain in the muscles.

I just had my mouth orthotic fitted today so I'm slowly getting used to it - very bizarre feeling but nice to know my jaw is sitting in the right place! It's a semi-permanent removable one with a metal overlay - my teeth are quite worn down from grinding and have little enamel left so a semi-permanent orthotic is my best option to be used long term. I hope eating becomes easier over time!

I'll let you know how my pain is after a week or two, fingers crossed I have some great improvement!

Gentle Hugs!

[Rachel1985]

Hi there,

Thanks for posting yoru experience - i'll be keeping an eye on the thread to see how it affects yoru pain.

I've not had too much luck with my fitted mouth guard. I seem to be waking myself up less at night, but I still find my jaw goes into spasm. I also get a lot of tightness etc in my neck like you describe.

I'm curious as to how you saw a neuro... dentist? Did you go through the maxillofacial team, or have a referal to a dental hospital? My Physio recommended that I ask to see a physio that speciailises in TMJ (She said it's not particularly covered unless physios do postgrad specialism in it. However, my GP wrote to the maxillofacial surgeon i've seen and he said they dont' utilise it, but could make a general referral. however I know from speaking to an NHS physio (who I saw for something else which was useless) that she had asked at their team meeting and no one could suggest anything. So i'm wondering do I push for a referral toa dental hospital? Would it really make much difference? Or do I need to keep going with the mouth guard for that bit longer?

[Little_Miss_Whoops]

Hi Rachael!

I just wrote a massive post about everything but my browser crashed arggggghhhh! I'll see if I can remember everything I wrote

I used to wear a night guard that my general dentist made for me to protect my teeth from grinding but not to help my jaw. Is this the kind of guard you have?

I'm in Australia and just googled 'neuromuscular dentist' to find one near me (not a lot of them around so I was lucky to find one nearby!). The place I go to is http://lifetimesmiles.com.au/ . There's great info on the site (the neuromuscular dentistry and TMJ links inparticular) and details of my dentist's qualifications so you can see how he might compare with the options you have over there.

I didn't need a referral to the dentist here but after my initial assessment which showed I do have all sorts of jaw problems, I got a referral from my family doctor so I could get goverment help with the costs.

I've already had a great improvement with my the pain in my actual jaw joints but my neck is still a bit painful - early days! I think sleeping is a problem as my jaw just flops into different positions depending on how i'm sleeping thanks to gravity and laxity (my nemeses!), so I think my dentist is going to create something to help keep my jaw in position while I sleep (he's an inventive chap which is brilliant for unusual cases like us).

I'll keep you posted on my progress - I have my next appointment next week so I'll let you know if anything of interest happens

I hope you find someone who can help you! I've found the TMJ, TMJ Worldwide, and Ehlers Danlos Syndrome facebook groups/pages to be informative too if you're on facebook.

Let me know if you have any more questions

Gentle hugs