Back when I had braces 4 years ago my dentist wanted me to get my jaw broken. I chose not to cause I thought I would be in such pain. I hate pain ... I have a hard time handling it. My Dr said of course it was up to me but that he strongly recommended it, however I never gave in. He said in the future I may end up with bad headaches because of it. Well, low and behold, four years later here I am with the worse headaches of my life, lasting more than 2 months so far, with no relief. I have had tests done on my head (like CT scan) to prove its nothing serious like that. Could it be this jaw? Any one have any experience with this??
Shaelle
12-30-2000, 06:55 PM
You could see a TMJ/TMD specialist. This is a dentist that specializes in Tempomandibular Joint Disorders. A TMJ/TMD problem could be causing your headaches. The reason I suggest this is because you obviously have some kind of malocclusion if your orthodontist wanted to break your jaw.
If you had started seeing an orthodontist when you were a young child (about 7-8 yrs) these type of malocclusions could have been corrected prior to adulthood, without having to break your jaw. Breaking your jaw is an awful thing, it's no walk in the park, but for complete orthodontic treatment to be effective the teeth should be not only straight, but have correct occlusion when you bite down. If you started ortho in your mid teens or later, it would have been too late to correct these type of malocclusions, unless you break the jaw and line it up the way it should be for a correct bite. A specialist will be able to diagnose a problem in your joint, and will be able to tell you if that is what may be causing your headaches. They have methods of treating TMJ disorders, and methods of curing them, but the methods of curing them are more expensive and scary, then just treating the symptoms. If it is a TMJ disorder, then one possible solution may still be to break your jaw.
I hope this helps, good luck!
mz_asia
01-20-2001, 11:21 PM
Hi, my name is Janet. I would highly recommend you to visit this site-http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/orthognathicsurgerysupport
I happen to be a member of this wonderful and very supportive club. You will learn a lot of info about breaking the jaws or in dental/medical terms- orthognatic surgery.
Hope to see you there!
