Gateway Dental

I don’t just have TMJ disorder, I was assaulted a few years ago and my jaw was broken and it never healed properly, and now I believe that the disc in the joint on the right hand side has slipped. My oral surgeon is not concerned at all with it. Is an orthopedic surgeon who I would see?

Yes. An orthopedist is a doctor who specializes in bones so you are on the right track. Depending on what type of insurance you have, you will likely have to start by seeing your primary care doctor and then having him refer you to an orthopedist.

Tonight I was teaching my three year old to break dance and when he was standing up he cracked me on the underside of my jaw. Initially it hurt but I thought it would go away. When I realized that I couldn’t close my jaw completely I went to urgent care and they diagnosed it as TMJ. They couldn’t give me very much information. Has anyone had this happen and made a full recovery? I still can’t shut my jaw and its freaking me out.

Unfortunately I know of a lot of people that don’t ever get full recovery. I didn’t damage mine, but I got TMJ where my jaw locked closed… that was in May of 2007 and it’s still closed. You can go to ehealth.com and tmjfriends.com to find good information about treatments, etc. I use those sites a lot!

I hope yours gets better!

Good luck.

im only 15, and ive had tmj for about four years. Its realllyyy bad, and ive gone to specialists and physio for it already but i was just wondering if anyone had some tips i could do at home that relieve the pain. I wear a mouthguard at night, im always massaging my jaw, completely stopped chewing gum, and even use deep cold when its really bad. any more tips on what i could do?

Unfortunately the TMJ is a joint and there are really no “specialist” for that particular joint. Night guard is the real only option that can “help” with the problem. The guard should be help your joint relax during the night but over the counter also may help. Stress plays a role with the pain as your muscles may tighten up by jaw clinching or teeth grinding at night during your sleep, at your age it’s not unusual. As you grow up and TMD will decrease a bit. It will come and go.

I guess it’s more information than help. Sorry I can’t help further.

Good luck.

I have some pretty bad TMJ issues and will be seeing a specialist shortly, but I grind my teeth so badly at night that my teeth and jaw hurt when I wake up. I wanted to use an over-the-counter mouth guard for some relief until I see the specialist, but the package warns not to use if you have TMJ or jaw clicking associated with TMJ. Any ideas as to why?

Night guards are sold over the counter not for TMJ problems exactly but for a condition known as bruxism or grinding of teeth. Since you already have a TMJ problem, wearing mouth guards are going to worsen things because of abnormal muscle pull in the TMJ area. Thats why dont use it when you are sleeping.

I have recently been dx with tmj. I had 3 surgeries (which required my mouth to be open) and 2 root canals done. Plus I clench at night and when stressed. I had some craniosacral therapy 1 time and I could see where this would really help but it's expensive. Can a chiropractor help tmj too?

I'm sure a lot of chiropractors (and die hard believers) will answer that chiropractic can certainly help, but that's because they think chiropractic can help anything and everything. A similar practitioner (osteopath) has already given his two cents. To which, I have to comment. He stated that with his techniques he's had "some good results". To me, the word "some" means that majority of the time the results were not favorable. That is the difference between these alternative practitioners and conventional medical doctors. Alternative practitioners like chiropractors (and apparently osteopaths) will stick with their only "catch all" type of treatment, no matter what (maybe because its all they can do? Although Osteopaths in the U.S. can provide conventional medical treatments as well). But you'll see a chiropractor continue to "adjust" patients despite the many patients who don't improve. Eventually, one patient is bound to tell them that they feel better. And when that happens, they'll make comments like, "I've seen some success with this treatment". Compared to what!? Two success stories will make the chiropractor instantly forget about the two dozen failures. And that brings me to my last point. Chiropractors never concede a failure, because they'll always rationalize that it just hasn't started to work yet. Or they'll say, "even though you can't tell, it is working". In other words, your feedback is only important when it validates what they've done.

But to answer your question, I'd see a real medical doctor that specializes in these types of disorders.

I've been to five different doctors, none of which have been able to help me when it comes to tmj and my terrible headaches that i've been suffering with for five years. i'm going to a dentist tomorrow and i hope that they can help me. it seems like doctors just want to prescribe you a ton of medication and never really solve the problem.

because you need to see an orthordontis. they say that you need a splint but tell them no. I have had one and it did nothing. you need a biteblock. It is like a splint except it has a spring in it. you wear it at night time when you sleep only. It is not cheap, but you will never regret it. When the orthordontis says to try the splint tell him or her you dont want to waste money and you know a lot of people that have tried them and they don't work. you don't have to know them I do. But a doctor can not help you with this. there maybe a chance that a denture center maybe able to make one but i don't know for sure mine was made by my orthordontist. worked great the only thing that worked.

My jaw is locked up on one side, I have Tmj , May jaw is also swollen some from having 2 wisdom teeth taken out on the other side. Any ideas on how to make it loosen up?

mine does this all the time! take a very hot rag.. run warm water on it. . and place up there kinda press on hte rag with your hand and try to open slowly! it should help thats what my denist told me to do about it

Please give me any hints, tips, suggestions, remedies that you know of for TMJ that work. I have facial soreness, muscle soreness, pain under my eyes, and I do not want to get surgery for it. Thanks.

You need to avoid, chewy foods as much as possible: bagels, gum, taffy. If you are going to eat an apple or something like that, make sure to cut it up, don't try to bite it.

Sometimes I put a hot rag on my jaw joints and it helps, temporarily, but it helps, and ibuprofen helps as well.

Definitely get you a bite guard to wear while you sleep, I have one and it does help.

In the middle of the night I woke up and when I moved the bottom of my jaw to the left I could feel the bones pop and go back in place when I moved my jaw to its original position. It just happened all of a sudden! Up till now my jaw does lock, but I don't feel it pop like it did. It still does pop and it hurts.

My mom told me I have TMJ and started listing family members (including herself) that have it.

What is TMJ and what does the dentist do about it?

TMJ is the term for the joint. TMD is temporomandibular disorder, which means that you are having problems with that joint (just like you can have problems with any other joint).

The dentist would usually recommend a nightguard to help maintain your jaw in the correct position, or for severe cases, surgery may be necessary.

I've spent over $2000 out of pocket to cover treatments and doctor visits for my TMJ problem. Can I claim this on my taxes and get money back?

You can deduct medical expenses if they total more than 7.5% of your adjusted gross income and you itemize your expenses instead of taking the standard deduction.
Example:
Your adjusted gross income is $40,000, 7.5% of which is $3,000. You paid medical expenses of $2,000. You cannot deduct any of your medical expenses because they are not more than 7.5% of your adjusted gross income.