TMJ and cheek bone pain? - Bone Disorders Message Board

irys · 01-28-2005, 10:42 AM

I've been battling TMJ since I was very little.. (I'm now 24) and in the last year or so I found some relief with a chiropractor.

Then?

Then I had to have an emergency root canal. ugh.

Suprisingly enough it adjusted my bite to something a bit more tolerable, but in the last month I've had a headache just about every day - more severly after I eat (even soft foods) - and today I just noticed that my left cheekbone is incredibly sore to the touch, like I was punched or something.

I don't usually have pain in the joint itself - sometimes the disc will become displaced and I'll be in pain, but usually my pain is in the muscles along my cheek. I do make a conscious effort not to clench my teeth during the day, but the muscles in my cheeks/jaw area seem to do it involuntarily..

I've been through countless nite guards, and actually do better without them (at least since the root canal..) *sigh*

I'm tired of taking tylenol, and advil, and tylenol PM to get any relief - that doesn't really help enough anyway.

Any advice?

elggon · 01-28-2005, 11:07 AM

Do you have any sinus problems? That can cause headaches and pain in and around the sinuses including your cheekbones and eyesockets. I get the cheek pain and toothaches when I have a sinus infection.

irys · 01-28-2005, 11:16 AM

elggon - I don't really have any sinus "problems" I've been a little stuffed up for the past couple days, but it's nothing bad.. I wouldn't even call it a cold.

Mr. Cumberpatch · 01-28-2005, 01:55 PM

Irys,

You might be clenching or thrusting your jaw in a protrussive direction. This tightens up the lateral pertygoid muscle which attaches to the cheek bone around the sinus area.

You might catch yourself thrusting your jaw even just a little bit during the day.

To combat this try doing tounge exercises as follows

1. click your tounge off the top of your mouth, try to get a big click as the tounge breaks the seal with the roof of your mouth. Do loads of these, anytime.

2. Draw circles over the roof of your mouth, 10 to the left, ten to the right, as many times as you want.

These strenghten up your tounge (hyoid muscle) which helps it rest in the roof of the mouth. In this position and with your lips together, teeth apart, you will be in a better position to control your jaw.

Have fun
Mr. Cumberpatch

irys · 01-30-2005, 05:59 PM

huh, thanks for those.

It wouldn't suprise me if I was infact doing that with my jaw - my teeth have never fit together well, and I'm constantly trying to find a resting point for my jaw to relax..

.. but that's how this whole mess started to begin with