nextlilypad
04-10-2008, 01:16 AM
I have TMJ due to malocculsion following a bite adjustment one year ago. My bite is now way off. I began splint therapy and wore an upper splint only at night in an attempt to get my jaw into neutral. In the short time I wore it my lower teeth began drifting forward in a matter of days. My lower arch was collapsing and I now had spaces between my lower front teeth. The splint never made contact with the lower teeth so my dr is perplexed. ??????I have an edge to edge bite and this I believe is the problem. Therapy was discontinued and I was referred to an Ortho. I saw the Ortho today and he wants to start splint therapy again only this time wearing it 24/7. He claims it won't matter if the teeth move since we can just push them back with braces. Does this make any sense to anyone? How are we finding the correct position when it changes everyday? Does anyone have any thoughts on where to go? I've been working this issue for a very long time am going broke and have made no headway.
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faith7777
04-11-2008, 10:48 AM
i have just seen a total of 4 ortho my bite is so offfffffff , two was a nut however two seem to be knowledgeable...the otho said i have to get a bite plate to rest the jaw befor braces he told me that my bite would change with the bite plate am not sure how i will eat cause now i eat only on two teeth ....so yes splints can change you bite.....
my incompetent dentist made me a mouth piece and did not cover my wisdom teeth and they erupted ..............it had to know what helps and what dont .....meanwhile we are all going broke
my incompetent dentist made me a mouth piece and did not cover my wisdom teeth and they erupted ..............it had to know what helps and what dont .....meanwhile we are all going broke
blahblah
04-12-2008, 06:33 PM
Hi - I can't offer any advice, but can share with you my experience and opinion.
My opinion is that so little is known about this disorder, that is the cause, the treatment, how it can be made worse, how it can be made better, etc etc etc! Meanwhile insurance covers little if any of it and we all sit here and suffer from it - it causes pain, weightloss, inability to eat, speak, function normally - you name it!
I also think a lot of people are diagnosed with TMJ disorder - - and there are many degrees. Some are easily treated - some are not. Some cause permanent damage - others do not.
I was diagnosed with TMJ 2 years ago and received varying opinions - told i had it, told i did not, told i had it BAD, told i needed surgery, told i would never need surgery!
I had several different splints. I had a decent bite 2 years ago - I now have a horrendous open bite. I can't make my front teeth meet at all. Some say that my bite progressively got worse for no apparent reason! Some say that there is NO WAY a splint could shift my bite to this degree unless i wore it for months 24/7.
All I know is I stopped all splint therapy last Summer. I was in treatment with a dentist - he began with an upper repositioning splint that looked like a retainer - others have looked at that splint and cant quite understand WHAT it was suppose to do - after 3 months in that I moved to a lower stabilizing splint - but it hurt a molar that I had a crown on which has been root canaled due to a fracture. So I stopped wearing it until I could figure out what to do next.
I consulted with an ortho who wanted to start me in all KNEW splint therapy for over $20000 - well I had just spent that with someone else, so i said no way. That ortho's plan was to get me out of pain and then put braces on my teeth - he also wanted me to have the molar and all four wisdom teeth removed. My wisdom teeth are what I bite down on - they are fully erupted, and always have been for many years.
I waited a few months and my pain subsided - i was being given no treatment and the pain went away. I saw my dentist who enouraged me to correct my horrendous malocclusion - he said my jaw pain would return, and the health of my teeth was in jeopardy due to such a horrible bite.
So I consulted with a NEW ortho. He will treat me with braces to correct my bite. I had the one molar extracted - but NO wisdom teeth. I will say that I have incredible jaw pain this week from that one extraction. I have such dejavu from one year ago when i felt this pain often.
In a few weeks I will get braces and begin correcting my bite. It is believed that I will no longer clench and grind at night once I have a healthy bite - and I will wear retainers to keep my teeth in place once braces come off.
I will come back and post a follow up to my treatment so others can hear how I did. If it works, there might be hope for others. If it fails, maybe I can prevent others from going through this. BUT every case of TMJ is different and the causes are unknown - so what works for some might not for others and vice versa.
Best of luck to you - and to all who read this, and some for me too! :)
My opinion is that so little is known about this disorder, that is the cause, the treatment, how it can be made worse, how it can be made better, etc etc etc! Meanwhile insurance covers little if any of it and we all sit here and suffer from it - it causes pain, weightloss, inability to eat, speak, function normally - you name it!
I also think a lot of people are diagnosed with TMJ disorder - - and there are many degrees. Some are easily treated - some are not. Some cause permanent damage - others do not.
I was diagnosed with TMJ 2 years ago and received varying opinions - told i had it, told i did not, told i had it BAD, told i needed surgery, told i would never need surgery!
I had several different splints. I had a decent bite 2 years ago - I now have a horrendous open bite. I can't make my front teeth meet at all. Some say that my bite progressively got worse for no apparent reason! Some say that there is NO WAY a splint could shift my bite to this degree unless i wore it for months 24/7.
All I know is I stopped all splint therapy last Summer. I was in treatment with a dentist - he began with an upper repositioning splint that looked like a retainer - others have looked at that splint and cant quite understand WHAT it was suppose to do - after 3 months in that I moved to a lower stabilizing splint - but it hurt a molar that I had a crown on which has been root canaled due to a fracture. So I stopped wearing it until I could figure out what to do next.
I consulted with an ortho who wanted to start me in all KNEW splint therapy for over $20000 - well I had just spent that with someone else, so i said no way. That ortho's plan was to get me out of pain and then put braces on my teeth - he also wanted me to have the molar and all four wisdom teeth removed. My wisdom teeth are what I bite down on - they are fully erupted, and always have been for many years.
I waited a few months and my pain subsided - i was being given no treatment and the pain went away. I saw my dentist who enouraged me to correct my horrendous malocclusion - he said my jaw pain would return, and the health of my teeth was in jeopardy due to such a horrible bite.
So I consulted with a NEW ortho. He will treat me with braces to correct my bite. I had the one molar extracted - but NO wisdom teeth. I will say that I have incredible jaw pain this week from that one extraction. I have such dejavu from one year ago when i felt this pain often.
In a few weeks I will get braces and begin correcting my bite. It is believed that I will no longer clench and grind at night once I have a healthy bite - and I will wear retainers to keep my teeth in place once braces come off.
I will come back and post a follow up to my treatment so others can hear how I did. If it works, there might be hope for others. If it fails, maybe I can prevent others from going through this. BUT every case of TMJ is different and the causes are unknown - so what works for some might not for others and vice versa.
Best of luck to you - and to all who read this, and some for me too! :)
faith7777
04-15-2008, 01:06 PM
i've seen 4 orto and one thing i've learn is that befor any braces your jaw must be resting in a comfortable place ....so am waiting to get a splint to try to relax my jaw make sure they know where exactly your jaw is before braces
DDDDsmom
05-23-2008, 03:30 PM
I have had severe TMJ due to a car accident for 10 years now. Mine is so bad I finally agreed to surgery in November, (I live in Canada so surgery is covered, but long waiting lists. The office visits are not covered!)
Anyway my point is my Doctor wants me to wear my mouthguard 24/7 until my surgery. However, all my research states that Doctors should instruct their patients NOT to do this as it can misalign your teeth. I am going to have it out with my Doctor over this at my next apt. If he mentions the word braces to me, it will not be pretty. I am 38 and have 4 children, ( and nice teeth, NOW) I'm to old and poor for braces.
BTW, after that guy flippantly said they can fix your problem with braces did you ask him who the heck was going to pay for them?
Shannon
Anyway my point is my Doctor wants me to wear my mouthguard 24/7 until my surgery. However, all my research states that Doctors should instruct their patients NOT to do this as it can misalign your teeth. I am going to have it out with my Doctor over this at my next apt. If he mentions the word braces to me, it will not be pretty. I am 38 and have 4 children, ( and nice teeth, NOW) I'm to old and poor for braces.
BTW, after that guy flippantly said they can fix your problem with braces did you ask him who the heck was going to pay for them?
Shannon
sunshine123
05-24-2008, 10:46 PM
I had splint therapy several times followed by braces. You think you're too old? I wore them in my 50's. lol. They corrected my bite and I'm doing better, but it wasn't just braces that helped. I still grind at night and take Flexeril and Xanax. Acupuncture also helps me a lot. I used to have terrible, daily headaches for many years. I only get a headache now once in awhile and they're not nearly as bad as they used to be. I wear a retainer at night also.