Severe TMJ - TMJ Disorder -TemporoMandibular Joint Message Board

KLPEACH · 04-23-2008, 09:54 PM

I have been a severe sufferer of tmdj or 8 years. I needed orthonathic surgery at the time I had my braces on. I was going to a HMO Kaiser and they denied the surgery, and my orthodontist told me that if I didn't have the surgery I would end up with dislocated jaws and torn discs. Well this is exactly what happen years down the road. One day I went to lunch with a friend got in the car to leave, and started to have horrible pain across the face. This is when the dislocation happened. Long story, had a prostodontist fix the dislocation with crowns, since surgery could not be done because there wasn't enough bone to hold the lower jaw in the socket.

At this point I have to eat only soft food because I have bone on bone. Eating soft food is so difficult, does anyone else have to live this way.

If I do chew I go into horrible pain and have to take vicodin and motrin until the flare-up subsides.

Good luck to all,
Kathy
Orangevale
California

Thelma-Louise · 04-23-2008, 10:14 PM

Well my story is quite different than yours in that my tmj started with dental restorations (crowns, bridges and implants) and made worse when a tmj dentist insisted that I crown my back teeth - it got so bad my current tmj dentist (my 4th since this started 4 years ago) removed everything to see if my muscles would relax given some time and in the mean time for me to see a cranial chiro. So basically I have been living with all my teeth filed down practically to the gum line for the past year and have been eating soft food for 4 years now. Any attempts on my part to "chew" food is futile since my teeth can not meet each other (all except one in the back on the right side) and trying to chew forces my upper jaw to go too far down to meet the lower jaw and this causes severe pain in my temples and head. So I stick to my "mushy" foods and anything that can be squished by my tongue and easily swallowed but I do miss that chewing satisfaction I used to get especially when biting into something.

Have you looked into doing anything about it or can nothing be done? I was was wondering if you ever looked into "fat injections" to replace or rebuild cartildge in the joint or prolo therapy to stimulate tissue growth and healing of the joint?