For you of those who suffer from TMJ, before you go and spend money out of your kazoo on appliances and doctor visits, go to an orthadontist and have him examine your teeth for alignment. This was my problem after many years of suffering, plus trying night splints, medications...etc. My orthodontist put me in braces and a little over 2 years later...wa-la! No more TMJ and my teeth look great! This may not be the case for most of you, but most jaw problems start with your teeth.
Kim57 what did the barces do for you? I have TMJ and it is because of overbite.
What I mean is that if the upper jaw or the teeth of my upper jaw extended 3mm lower so that I did not have to push my lower jaw up as much to chew or close my mouth then there would be no clicking and no pain. I am quite sure that the vast majority of poeple with TMJ problem have this problem at least and perhaps other issues as well.
In my case my teeth also are angled inwards. So if they were made more verticle then they would extend more or get taller.
I am trying to find someone that would do this. I would also like to know how much you paid for this if you do not mind.
thanks.
I had braces when I was 12-15. I had no problems with TMJ or bites until I hit 27. My teeth are still straight, my neuro says braces are the phase 2 of my treatment for an overbite, could it be I formed an overbite after my initial braces?
What kind of braces did you have, the clear ones like Tom Cruise, the silver on front or the removable?
kim57 - i think that braces may work for *some* people as long as they dont have underlying [structural] problems.
im glad, tho, that they worked for you.. it must be an amazing feeling to be "cured".
after i finish my phase I treatment with a repositioning splint, my dentist recommended braces. thus far, im not going to go thru with it.. im waiting to see how i'll respond to my new splint.
mdla - sorry to butt in here, but from my understanding, the "invisiline" braces are only meant for minor teeth misalignment problems.
- saaraah.
[This message has been edited by saaraah (edited 09-26-2003).]
WARNING! Not all orthodontists do good work, and just because many of them make your teeth look straight, the truth is the alignment of your teeth may still be bad after you've had braces. I have an overbite and I also have headaches from the misalignment of my teeth. Sometimes my jaw gets locked open. When I first started seeing my wonderful dentist, he recognized immediately that I could feel like this because of my bite and alignment, even though my teeth look nice and striaight due to braces. He knows the orthodontist who did my braces when I was a kid, and has flat out said that he did a bad job aligning my teeth.. Make sure you get an orthodontist who is better than the rest. Finally I have been referred to another who is and I am getting braces again...
as a side note, he did Li'l Bow Wow's teeth!
Thanks for all your inputs. To anwser some questions....I had the clear braces on the front, and the silver (metal) ones on the back. Being as old as I was at the time (30ish) I didnt want to stick out like a sore thumb when I opened my mouth. I did however when it came time to replace the bands each month, one time at Easter, my daughter talked me into getting pink bands on the front. http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/redface.gif Like I said before...braces are not for everyone. I would get references to a good orthodontist. And yes..I did have an overbite. Mine was so bad that you couldnt hardly see my bottom teeth when I bit down. I think what was causeing most of my problems was my molars was way out of alignment. The cost however varies. The metal are usually the cheapest, next the clear, and they also have gold, which are kind of expensive. I dont know about other orthodontists, but mine had a payment plan. I had a payment book, just as you would for a car or house loan, and made payments every month until they were paid off. Back when I had mine done, in the early 90's, I paid around $1200.oo. That included all check ups and your retainers. Unfortunaly, I did not wear my retainers for the recommended time allowed. My dog chewed up my bottom one about 4 months after I got them. But luckly, my teeth did not move too much to make a difference.
Braces Work! 
