Does anyone suffer from TMJ? Any tips on Coping?

sofababe

I have TMJ and at times its very painful, resulting in neck and facial pain and awful headaches. The clicking is so loud other people in the house can hear it!

I have a pronounced overbite, I've always had one, but the problems with my jaw started after I had all 4 impacted wisdom teeth removed under local anaesthetic (they don't do that anymore!). I don't suffer from stress, and I don't grind or clench my teeth.

I avoid very hard food, toffees etc., as this definitely kicks it off. I can go for several days without any trouble, then one day my jaw will just lock up so I can't get my jaws together at all, and I'll have the pain and clicking for a couple of days.

Is this how everyone else's manifests, or do you have symptoms all the time?

oopsadaisydoddle

sofababe wrote: »

I have TMJ and at times its very painful, resulting in neck and facial pain and awful headaches. The clicking is so loud other people in the house can hear it!

I have a pronounced overbite, I've always had one, but the problems with my jaw started after I had all 4 impacted wisdom teeth removed under local anaesthetic (they don't do that anymore!). I don't suffer from stress, and I don't grind or clench my teeth.

I avoid very hard food, toffees etc., as this definitely kicks it off. I can go for several days without any trouble, then one day my jaw will just lock up so I can't get my jaws together at all, and I'll have the pain and clicking for a couple of days.

Is this how everyone else's manifests, or do you have symptoms all the time?

ETA - if and when I do open wide, it hurts so try not to!

I can open my mouth quite wide but when I do, instead of my jaw going in a straight line up and down, it goes down and to the right and back up and to the left.

Looking back, I think i have had the issues for a while now. I often wake up feeling like I've not been to sleep. In recent weeks it has become more painful and more tense. I have headaches, face pain, earache, dizziness and lots of other niggles that could be down to this!

Like I said, the only 'stress' i have is not getting anywhere with my weight loss and IBS. My family life is good, work is enjoyable, we have debt but not scary stuff so don't worry about money too much.

I know that IBS and this are linked to stress but I can't help wondering if it is the IBS that is causing the stress or vice versa?

lushlifesaver

I clench/grind when sleeping if I'm 'stressed' or something - not something I acknowledge so I only know if I have pain!

Sounds odd but for immediate relief I make/buy (depending on where I am) a hot chocolate (make sure it is HOT not enough to burn but enough to feel it) and a bottle of icy chilled water then sip them alternately

I got some cocodamol from the doc for it once and they also advised me to try the diclofenac I had for period cramps at the time. But mostly, deep breathing exercises, hot water bottles/wheat packs and my drinking technique above!

I can't really eat decent food (needs chewing loads etc) when I get it so I eat a lot of cottage pie, soup, jelly...basically indulge in all my favourite comfort foods haha

blossomhill_2

oopsadaisy - I have PM'd you

sophief333

sofababe wrote: »

I had all 4 impacted wisdom teeth removed under local anaesthetic (they don't do that anymore!).

I had two wisdom teeth out under local on Friday!

oopsadaisydoddle

sophief333 wrote: »

I had two wisdom teeth out under local on Friday!

Ooh I hope you're ok. That can't have been nice.

I tried the exercises that the dentist gave me but they made the pain worse so she told me to stop doing them. The pain is getting worse day by day. I have an appointment to get a mouth guard fitted on 12 Dec. I really hope it helps. I got a new hot water bottle last night and slept with it under my face!!

Hernextdoor24

Wisdom teeth can only be taken out if you have had an infection resulting in 2 or more prescriptions for antibiotics.
TMJ disorder is difficult to treat as it may be due to tooth clenching, bruxism (grinding), arthritis, habits such as nail biting. A dentist may offer treatment such as soft diet, bite guard, referral to a specialist.

brook2jack

Hernextdoor24 wrote: »

Wisdom teeth can only be taken out if you have had an infection resulting in 2 or more prescriptions for antibiotics.
TMJ disorder is difficult to treat as it may be due to tooth clenching, bruxism (grinding), arthritis, habits such as nail biting. A dentist may offer treatment such as soft diet, bite guard, referral to a specialist.

Actually this is wrong. For most referrals to a NHS hospital for wisdom teeth removal NICE guidelines state that recurrent infections , or other pathology (something wrong with tooth or surrounding area) must be present. Only complex extractions aee referred to hospital.

However the vast majority of wisdom tooth extraction takes place in general practice where guidelines for extraction are the same as for any other tooth, and the extraction process is normally no more complicated than any other tooth and does not need general anaesthetic.

oopsadaisydoddle

Well today is agony! Have alternated between paracetamol and ibuprofen and sat with my hot water bottle.

I'm also feeling pain in a tooth that I have a root filling in. It is on the the same side and in the same area as the muscle tension. I wonder if the TMJ has set the nerves off in that tooth again. It feels very tender!

My neck hurts too and does my face :-(...feeling a tad sorry for myself, if you can't tell!

Racheldevon

I have problems with TMJ as part of another joint based condition that's genetic, however, my dentist referred me to the maxilofacial team at the hospital and they believe that teeth grinding at night is contributing to it, and i've no doubt my stressful job plays a significant role.

The things i've found helpful are:
-Seeing an excellant private physio who works on my neck, muscles down the side of my neck, my facial muscles etc - this makes a huge difference
-Wearing a mouth guard moulded by the hospital team (& recently replaced by my regular dentist)
-Regular sport massage to address tension in back/neck etc
-Seeing someone for acupuncture regularly - see someone who is BAC registered if you go down this route - the needles and moxa heat really help to relax the muscle spasms for me personally.
-During flare ups, I take a low dose muscle relaxant at night to try and break the cycle but never for more than 3 nights.
- I try to avoid foods that require lots of chewing, crunching - and notice my tendency to crunch mints doesn't help! The hospital team told me to avoid those kind of foods duirng a particularly bad flare up in which I could barely open my mouth and ended up eating a lot of liquid base things.
-If depression or anxiety is an issue, and it appears that it may contribute as mentioned about, then you can access in many areas MBCT or MBSR (Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction 8 week courses on the NHS (Flagship courses run at Exeter, Bangor and Oxford universities but many other places offer it) and this has a strong evidence base and is NICE guideline recommended for recurrent depression

My TMJ is largely now under control