TMJ Dysfunction..

[bendyone]

Hi everyone

I have suffered with TMJ for many years. My dentist explained that I grind my teeth at night because they are not aligned correctly. She gave me the gumshield type appliance some years ago but I am a mouth-breather and I found this very difficult to wear (I felt panicky as I couldn't breath properly).

Over the years my jaw has subluxed more and more. If I try to bite into something big or crusty, it pops out. Sometimes even chewing gum causes it to sublux.

Anyway, at the grand old age of 41, my dentist referred me to the dental hospital for braces!!! I had traintracks fitted last July and I am well on the way to having my bite corrected. I don't know whether it's because my teeth are on the move and grinding is more difficult with a brace on but my jaw has definitely settled down. My dentist hopes that once my teeth are straight I won't grind anymore and my jaw will not sublux just as much.

I know it's drastic - but if your bite is out and you're suffering with symptons through grinding, it might be worth asking for a referral to an orthodontist. My treatment is free and hopefully I will have a beautiful smile as well as less pain at the end of it.

Bendyone

[Retro]

Cool! I've just got a bite guard but mine is quite small and unobtrusive so I've got used to it really quickly.

Lindsey

[painsucks]

yup, was told it was my fault because I was grinding my teeth

I won't lie... I do it when I'm cold

[tab]

I hadnt realised TMJ was part of HMS. I had jaw problems for years which caused migraines and my dentist said it was because my jaw dislocates when I yawn. I had a brace for a few years at the age of 25 and found that really helped in stopping the migraines but I still have a loss clicky jaw and cant eat toffee,chewing gum etc.
love
Tab

[vixenmeister]

My dentist has just referred me to the dental hospital for TMJ. I was starting to think that tying a hanky round my head - Jacob Marley style was going to be the only way to stop my jaw popping out so I was pleased to see that bite guards etc might help.......
He knows very little about EDS but a lot about TMJ. He told me it is quite a common condition in the general population, could it be that it is just more extreme in the likes of us?

Vix

[painsucks]

My dentist has just referred me to the dental hospital for TMJ. I was starting to think that tying a hanky round my head - Jacob Marley style was going to be the only way to stop my jaw popping out so I was pleased to see that bite guards etc might help.......
He knows very little about EDS but a lot about TMJ. He told me it is quite a common condition in the general population, could it be that it is just more extreme in the likes of us?

Vix

I'd say it's more common cuz it's pretty easy to diagnosis. pain, nosies... "you have tmj"

but yeah, from what I've read TMJ problems are really common with people who have HMS/EDS hypermobility

[loosebones]

Went to the dentist, asked about TMJ and he looked blank. I have a date booked for my front tooth repair (was changed suddenly to 22nd April). At the time of the appt the dentist said I would have to have an operation for TMJ - he didn't even look to confirm or suggest referring me onwards. Turns out though that he has just been sacked. Have to go through it all again

[Willowsmom]

Hey Loosebones...I don't know you or your particular situation, but right now I'm glad that dentist got sacked. From everything I've heard and read, surgery for TMJ dysfuction tends to exacerbate the problem. I guess there are some people for whom it works, but if any doctor or dentist recommended it for me, based my own experiences with it and what I've learned about hypermobility, I'd get a second opinion before scheduling surgery.

The most brilliant doctor I think I've ever had is my endocrinologist, who's pretty certain that my oral/dental problems, including the loss of a bunch of lower teeth due to idiopathic root resorption ("idiopathic" is a fancy doctors' way of saying "we don't know what's going on to cause this!"), is the result of the connective-tissue disorder! I was 47 and suffering from horrible plantar fasciitis for the first time (summer of 1998, during a public-transit strike) when a really good podiatrist told me, after examining me, that I was hypermobile. Silly me said, "What does that mean?" and she answered, "It means you're too flexible." I showed her a couple of party tricks and she just nodded and acted like she wanted me to stop doing that...I thought it was because I was interrupting her, but in hindsight I think it was more that she didn't want me to hurt myself. I know I had to sleep in a brace, a steel bar with shoes at either end, when I was very young, and my mother enrolled me in a kiddy dance class in hopes that it would improve my coordination, strength, equilibrium and agility (it didn't), but it never dawned on me that all of the above might be part of a disorder that certain other conditions, such as age and diseases like chronic kidney disease, primary hyperparathyroidism, thyroid cancer, menopause and extreme work-related stress (that's another story altogether!) would exacerbate.

I know plenty of people who have intermittent TMJ problems and are sometimes in a lot of pain from them, but I see them and watch them talk and it's clear to me that they aren't crippled by the pain. They might take a pain-killer for it and they might wonder if it's wise to chew, but they're able to chew if they're hungry, and they aren't in prolonged agony. Not that their pain is trivial, but I don't think it's as severe or as difficult to manage as mine can be. The people I'm thinking of are not hypermobile.

Barbara (taking a break from finishing my taxes...I know we thought we were fighting you because we didn't want taxation without representation, but I get plenty of representation and I STILL get taxed through the nose, so why did we fight that revolution, anyway?!)

[Spireite]

I have a clicky left jaw, but I only really have a problem when I go to the dentists and have to hold my jaw open for what seems like eternity while he does a check up. It's increasingly agony. I ask for short breaks but he's a bit blank. The hygienist is worse - it took me ages to get her attention to stop and then after a brief pause when the pain had eased to persuade her to continue. Why is taking occasional short pauses so difficult? Is this TMJ? What can be done?

[Willowsmom]

It sounds like subluxation to me; my jaws do that literally every time I open my mouth wide, and I suppose there's a popping or clicking sound that other people can hear, but to me it's more a matter of feeling it go out of place than hearing it. My father's the same way, but as far as I know he's never had TMJ pain or disability, and he has the most gorgeous teeth you ever saw, though he abuses them! He's not hypermobile, though his feet hyperpronate (maybe just one of them, and I'm not sure if his ankles do as well; with me it's both feet and ankles). There are something like 50 TMJ disorders (they're grouped as "TMD"), so simply calling a problem "TMJ" doesn't say too much about it. Any time you tell a dentist or hygienist that you have a TMJ disorder or problem and it's painful for you to keep your mouth open wide for more than a few minutes (or however long you can do it), that person should be on the alert for times when you'll ask him or her to take a break! Good grief, how much suffering do you need!!

Barbara

[cnc03]

I've been using my bite raiser for 4 months now, and am due back in August. It has taken some of the pain away, but I still can't eat anything as crunchy as crisps regularly without it hurting. Still goes in and out very easily, it's so lax now that there's no stopping it. Apparently there is no reason for it to be going out, other than the laxity, so not really sure what they're going to do about mine yet- can't see it being resolved unless the ligaments are tightened.
I did find a use for my lax jaw though- when I had to have a wisdom tooth out, the surgeon kept asking me to move my jaw sideways, so that was quite useful (guess it would have been easier not to have such a narrow mouth to begin with!!) especially as I've inherited super strong roots from my Mum.

It's strange, most of the time my jaw feels better being slightly out- I guess it's a proprioception related thing, but I tried explaining that to the consultant and he didn't seem to believe me!!

[Taz]

So glad I found this thread, this is one of the questions I have been looking for an answer for! I have suffered with TMJD for about 8 years that I remember and got it confirmed earlier this year. Unfortunately because of my job I can't take any of the medication they offered me to ease the symptoms so I just have to put up with it!

[Willowsmom]

Taz, what kind of job do you have? What type of medication are they trying to give you? If you want to take something that won't make you sleepy (assuming that's the problem), can you take an NSAID like ibuprofen, or arthritis-strength Tylenol? How about glucosamine chondroitin? I've been taking it for almost seven years now and it's quite helpful; any time the barometric pressure drops I'm in agony until the bad weather that's coming actually arrives, but most of the time now I can eat. As for the arthritis-strength Tylenol, that's quite helpful if I take it immediately, and even better if I also rub some Arnica gel on the skin in that area.

Barbara

[Ouch!]

hello everyone,

I too have TMJ but I have DJD with it as well. I saw the xrays last week and boy is there some bone missing! Now awaiting a MIR on my ligaments. Big hug to everyone who knows how it feels.

Ouch x

[Taz]

Barbara, I work on board trains as a guard and my job is safety critical so all medication has to be approved. They wanted me to take diazepam at night and when I refused that they tried to put me on amytriptiline which I again refused. I will ask again about medication as the cold weather is bringing with it lots of pain