tulip2222

I've had TMJ since I was very small. It's sometimes painful and usually just annoying, but my dentist and orthodontist always acted like it was no big deal so I just learned to live with it for many years.

I'm not sure if there are varying degrees of TMJ and I'm new to this board... so as background information, the right side of my jaw clicks everytime i open my mouth, even while I'm just talking or chewing. The click is loud enough for others to hear while I'm talking to them or eating at the table with them. Every morning, my jaw is locked when I wake up. My jaw also locks throughout the day if I open my mouth too wide.

Tonight, I was driving home from work and my jaw felt locked, so I moved my mouth for a few seconds. Suddenly, I got a terrible pain in the whole right side of my face. My right ear immediately popped and the right side of my face felt numb and droopy. I noticed I was even having trouble blinking my right eye and moving my lips. It's been about 2 hours and I still have hardly any sensation in the right side of my face and I can barely open my mouth without extreme pain!

This has never happened to me before. My TMJ pain has been relatively mild. It is concerning me that I have lost sensation in one side of my face. Is this normal for TMJ? Should I see a doctor about this? What kind of doctor should I even see? Any advice would be great! Thanks!