Anyone had an anterior deprogrammer made? - TMJ Disorder -TemporoMandibular Joint Message Board

StillHope · 12-28-2008, 09:34 PM

Did you have an anterior deprogrammer made for you by your dentist in order to make your jaw relax? Did it work? Few dentists mentioned that this is a good thing to start with but none of them made it for me.
Can it be used at night?

Sincerely2 · 12-29-2008, 05:23 PM

Hello, I have had several bite guards(splints) made in the last 13 years. After trying several of the full mouth splints all I got was pain from them. Then a dentist made me a upper anterior deprogrammer where only the bottom 6 teeth hit the guard. I really liked that one but I moved and after I had some dental work I had to have it replaced. Unfortunately, I have found that most dentist don't make this type of bite guard. I can't go without a splint and my jaw is even worse than it is when I wear one. Then I got a anterior deprogramer that fits over the two top front teeth. I had horrible pain from that one and it was weird because it stuck out of my mouth. Then the dentist made one on the bottom two teeth and it feels okay I guess. I have since seen a oral surgeon about my jaw and another tmj specialist who said that I should not wear this guard though so I am now stumped. One dentist says this one says that. I told my husband that I hope I die soon because I don't know how much more pain I can take. I also have a trigeminal neuralgia since I had a jaw infection(very rare type of germ) after having a wisdom tooth pulled. I ended up in the hospital because by the time the dentist and emergency room(who didn't take a xray) finally decided this was no normal bacteria I was seriously ill. The infection was in my throat and I couldn't breath. I was in the hospital for 11 days and had to take antibiotics for 2 months. I have the best dentist story. Ha! Ever since then I have had trigeminal neuragia from nerve trama. My jaw hurts because a dentist thought my teeth were the cause of the trigeminal neuralgia and changed my bite. I have had terrible teeth and jaw pain ever since. It has gotten so bad that I often lay on the pillow and cry. I hope that I helped you. I would say it depends on who make the splint and how much you need it. I have been told the the full mouth splints are the best but I think some people find they have more pain when wearing them. I hope it helps you.

StillHope · 12-29-2008, 07:49 PM

Sincerely2, thank you very much for sharing! You are not alone in pain though this is not a big consolation. These days I am really at the edge of taking it any more; can't think of anything better than crying; I think I tried it all with dentists and w/o them.
Currently my bite is totally messed up and I can't place anything functional (I mean temp bridges) in my mouth. So I badly need something for sleeping, otherwise my jaw collapses and I feel suffocated. Thanks for describing the options which you tried.
When you had 6 lower teeth touching the guard could your last molars touch at all?

Sincerely2 · 12-30-2008, 06:02 AM

Hi StillHope, The guard rested on the gums and went up halfway up the back teeth but it didn't go around them. The back teeth didn't touch at all which was very good. I have heard you can get a open bite with this type of guard and a nti guard but I haven't got one and I wore one for several years. The dentist told me to just wear it at night and it would be fine. You are right about getting the care we need. Each time I see a new dentist I feel maybe this time I will get better but I'm let down over and over again. I get so stressed out anymore. I have spend a so much money on bite guards, a crown, bridge and ect. trying to get my bite and jaw to feel better. I was so stupid to let that dentist grind my teeth to change my bite which didn't hurt at all. I have had so much pain because of a dentist who didn't know what he was doing. It sounds like you know the feeling. Have you tried the full mouth splint? I think I have about 4 of those and they all hurt a lot. I am still hitting my teeth onto the splint which made them hurt. You probably know about heat and cold packs. Sometimes I just stay in the shower until the hot water is out and run the water on my jaw. I also sometimes cut a piece of a icy hot patch and put it on the area of my jaw. It will burn your eyes a bit but I usually lay down and close my eyes until the vapors die down a little. Well, I have yacked enough. Thank you for writing and keep in touch okay. I will help you in any way that I can. Sincerely2

StillHope · 12-30-2008, 11:49 PM

Yes, I know all about the jaw hurting, bite lost, not fitting full-mouth splint (for $4,5K!!) and so on. There seems to be enormous amount of people whose bite was lost or messed up from dental work. A while ago I thought I was the only one since when I complained about this to dentists they tried to show to me that "something was wrong with me", and they did not want to take my case. The ones who did, made sure they got the money upfront (which is pretty easy when someone is in pain and desperate) but after that usually did not even do what they have promised.

Could you close your lips in that comfy splint? Was it of the height that you wanted your teeth to be or you felt like you could not close your mouth (and lips) all the way?
Do you have many permanent crowns? The rest are your teeth, I assume. You should not give up and really restore your bite! As I was telling many times on the thread about Appliances we have to find the comfy bite ourselves; relying on dentists for this does not seem to work. In a few days it will be my 9th anniversary of "finding my bite" after the dental work. Basically I know where my bite is and what is the proper jaw path; in that position the jaw does not hurt. The problem is that if the teeth do not support this bite everything gets twisted and hurts.
I learned from the trial and error method that the best way to calm down the jaw is to focus on relaxing it and the whole body (do not allow your teeth to touch when you do that).
Thanks for your response, today I am somewhat better; went for a 1.5 hour walk to relax my jaw and the body. Sleeping is tough.
Let me know if you have any questions about the bite since I got quite an experience.