Does anyone here suffer from TMJ? If so, what treatments are there? My old dentist gave me an rx for muscle relaxers a long time ago, but it seems to be getting progressively worse. It's not major pain, but a constant dull ache. That being said.. it's not intolerable. Just wondering if there's alternative options that people here have had experience with..

TIA!

I have TMJ too, sometimes my jaw will pop out of alignment and it hurts really bad to pop it back. I was told braces would help or your jaw could be broken than reset OUCH , I would really like to see what others say, as I've gotten older mine has gotten worse.

Christine

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TLJ ~ Women United in Spirit

Braces made mine go away... no more grinding, no more popping, no more pain! I wish I had had them sooner. I only just had them when I was in my mid-30's (about 10 years ago).

I have it also. It's getting progressively worse with time. An oral surgeon put me on a 30 day liquid diet to "rest" my jaw, but that didn't really help. After that, he recommended that I get a guard to sleep with at nigh to stop me from grinding my teeth, but I didn't get it because I don't grind my teeth. I do bit my nails, and he said I should stop that immediately. It could be causing all of my problems. I also notice mine is worse when I'm stressed because I clench my jaw. If nothing else works, he said I should have surgery. He did say that there was a procedure that he could do before the surgery where he would inject some saline into the space that might move things back into place. I ended up losing my insurance though, so I never went back. Now I just suffer with it.

I wouldn't do the surgery but that is how I feel after many opinions and much research AND finding that braces worked... My dentist's daughter had it done and he said that they *accidentally* clipped a nerve and now she drools constantly. My dentist (not the orthodontist!) actually did my braces and fixed the problem with the braces by realigning my molars -- pretty much what breaking the jaw would have done -- so that I can't clench any more and everything lines up better so there isn't any more popping. He is really good though... It helps to have the added security of trusting him.

I've had it for over 35 years now! That was really before the doctors knew what TMJ was. I had my wisdom teeth pulled -- that didn't help. So after I got married, I later went to a dentist who was a specialist in TMJ and stuff like that. He made a mold of my teeth and custom fit me with a mouth guard. I had to wear it at night and during the day if I was home. Plus he grinded my teeth down some. Both procedures helped tremendously. I had gotten to the point at that time where I couldn't even open my mouth wide enough to eat a sandwich or a hamburger. The mouth guard basically put my jaw back in alignment.

I too have the mouth/teeth guard. It helps a lot. I was having terrible headaches when I woke up and my jaw would pop like crazy.
Since using the guard. No more headaches...

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i had it went to the dd dentist and mentioned it and he said for them to check the wisdom teeth. well that was the problem had all four impacted wisdom teeth out and never had tmj again.

Question for everyone. 10 days ago I had an emergency root canal ( my first root canal) It felt better afterward. I have no trouble talking but I can't open my mouth to say eat a sandwich. I have been cutting up my food in little pieces so I can eat. I called the oral surgeon two days ago. They said it might be sore from the work. It does not hurt but I can't open my mouth more than one finger. I plan on calling the oral surgeon again today because there is no way I can finish the root canal on Tuesday.

I have it. It was really bad in high school. My jaw would lock, either while It was open or closed. It really sucked when I would yawn at school and my jaw would lock while it was open. Walking around with your mouth open and drooling wasn’t to fun. I also quit eating at school because the people around me could hear my jaw popping while I ate. I tried the mouth guard but it only made things worse. My jaw would end up locking during the night and with the guard in my mouth I had a really hard time getting it to unlock.

I seen a dentist that specialized in TMJ at a dental college. I went to physical therapy for a while which really helped. I did several different jaw exercises. Warm moist heat also helped when my jaw was locked or really sore. Usually relaxes the muscles enough to unlock it, or stop the popping for a while. Either a warm wet wash cloth, or a heating pad that you put a damp pad in the cover with it. He was also big on posture. When I started paying attention to how I was sitting, it did make a difference. The days I sit up straight and my head up, I have less pain and popping. If I’ve been slouching a lot my jaw will start popping and get tight and sore. I have to watch how I sleep ir it’ll act up again. I also catch myself clenching my jaw when I’m mad or stressed so I have to watch that. Avoiding tough and/or chewy foods also helps. It’s not to bad now. It still acts up but nothing I haven’t been able to take care of on my own (warm moist heat, posture, reduce stress, soft foods for a while, a couple exercises from physical therapy). I know I'll have to go back at some point but trying to put it off as long as I can (ins. company has a limit on what they'll pay for tmj).


Hope you can find something to help.

Go to your dentist. Depending on the problem, there are different options like others posted ~ a bite guard, braces, surgery (if severe), massage therapy.

READ52.....Your problem is probably from opening for so long. It takes time for the jaw muscles to heal. Let your doctor know. They should have bite blocks that you can use when you go back that will let these muscles "rest" so that it won't happen again.

Kathie