Please Help - TMJ Disorder -TemporoMandibular Joint Message Board

totallyconfused · 03-20-2003, 09:27 AM

Hi! I am new to this forum, but have read a lot of your posts over the last couple days. I have recently seen a new dentist and I know he is getting ready to recommend some sort of "treatment" for TMD (or TMJ). After reading all of your posts I am not at ALL sure that a splint is the way to go. I don't want a nightguard or splint to make my bite worse (open bite, etc) and to cause me to have jaw pain--which as of right now I do not have. Can anyone give me any advice or whether or not I should allow my dentist to put me in a nightguard, splint, etc? I don't want to make myself worse. Thank you for your help.

[This message has been edited by totallyconfused (edited 10-28-2003).]

OHJELJ · 03-20-2003, 09:36 AM

Hey Cathleen and welcome!

Don't think that a splint will damage you in every case. Prolonged splint useage does cause some damage to your teeth, compression and the like. However, you can't discount the good a bite plate can do for your grinding. Mine stops me from grinding at all...sometimes it gets on my nerves, but I realize that it's really protecting me from further damage.

It's when I don't wear my splint, or it doesn't fit correctly that I run into problems. Your doc really needs to maintain the appliance for you when he gives it to you. Everytime there is a even a slight change to your mouth he will have to adjust it. If you don't take care of your splint, it can cause damage.

Hopefully you'll only have to wear it at night....feels weird for the first week or so, but you do get used to it!

Good luck and take care,
Jennifer

totallyconfused · 03-20-2003, 10:01 AM

tmjinflorida · 03-22-2003, 01:09 AM

It's really important to go to the right doctor. This time that my jaw started bothering me the first oral surgeon I went to just gave me a prescription for flexeril and when I said what about the pain he said take 1 advil every fours hours. Well I'd already been taking two advil and still was in pain. When I said that to him he saw the muscle rexant will help and later we'll get you a biteguard so you'll stop grinding your teeth. Anyway I went home and was still in so much pain I was crying. I talked to my mom who is a nurse and said mom I don't remember it being this bad when I was a teenager and got it and she that's because they gave you pain medicine in addition to muscle relaxers and the mouth/bite guard.

So she said I needed to find someone new. So I mentioned my problem to a firend who I never realized that her husband treated TMJ ... I thought he was just a dentist. When I saw him he asked if they other doctor had done any xrays beside the panoramic one of the jaw.. And I said no. So he proceeded to do some diagnostic tests and found that a couple of my teeth are really sensitve. So he took an xray in those areas and found that my sinus nerve is toothing the tooth. So when I got a little stressed I started grinding my teeth which then caused more pain on this tooth wehich set off the chain reaction that lead to this episode of TMJ/D. He said the only way to get better is to break the pain cycle. So he prescribed different pain killers, muscle relaxants and made me a bite guard. This one is different than the one I had years ago. This one is thin somewhat flexible and fits on my upper teeth. He said this will act as a cushion for the questionable tooth which should help me sleep better especially with the meds. Last nigth was the first night I used the nightguard and it also is the first time in weeks where I've been able to sleep more than 2 hours and I didn't wake up in agonizing pain.

So I think f you find the right doctor and get the right type of guard it can really help. In addition I recommed getting a jaw massage by a craino-sacral massage therapist.

Cymy Sue · 03-22-2003, 03:46 AM

Cathleen,

There are some success stories on the board regarding the appropriate "Splint Therapy". Marlene for one. I suggest you read her posts. She, along with others was my inspiration to try it again after many years of being told it would not help my condition.

Since you're new, I did'nt know if you knew that you can search particular subjects of discussions. You can go to "Search" within the board and type in "Splint Therapy" , "Repositional Splint Therapy" or "Marlene" and read a lot of discussion on the types that are working.

Most members seem to be seeing good results with Anterior Repositional Splints.

I have had multiple surgeries, disc removed, a lot of nerve damage, etc., and was told for over 10 years that a splint would be useless, by Oral Surgeons.

For my condition, my Dentist has made a splint he calls a Posterior Muscle Repositional Splint. He says this type is for people with severly damaged joints and surgical intervention. I have had steady improvement of all symtoms since January. It's the first time I've had any real hope & relief in many years.

I am not new to splint therapy. I was in one type or the other from 77 to 92, and then surgeons discouraged me regarding splints. They were wrong.

Splint Therapy can work for most people. You have to find a Dentist or Doctor who knows what they are doing and will prescribe the appropriate Splint for your condition. The correct splint should not cause any further damage. The type I have is actually used for degenerative joint disease.

Good Luck,
Cymy Sue