question... - TMJ Disorder -TemporoMandibular Joint Message Board

bassclari · 05-28-2009, 05:48 PM

If you don't mind a personal question...You mentioned in another post that you have dystonia. Do you also have TMD? Do you think they are related?

Thelma-Louise · 05-28-2009, 07:41 PM

Yes I do have TMD brought on by a change in my bite and I think they are related. Dystonia was diagnosed by a neurologist - basically its a movement disorder characterized by a repetitive yet irregular muscle functioning or dysfunction as the case may be usually triggered by some trauma or injury elsewhere for those reading this not familiar with it. I am pretty sure however that I read somewhere it may also be related to the a degeneratioin of the myelin (sp?) sheathing in the brain stem - he also thought I might have MS based on my MRI results (10 brain lesions) but I never went back to him as I was looking for some relief to my pain at the time and he offered very little.

I get facial spasms that are characterized by my tongue making a repetitive circular motion around my upper back teeth - hence his diagnosis. But this started shortly after a visit with the dentist and a back tooth was "modified" - a simple filling gone wrong - although I had been getting facial pain and fatigue prior to that which I attributed to dental work replaced a few years earlier.

IMO or what makes sense to me anyway is that the ill-fitting bridges I had done followed by the botched filling on the back tooth triggered or induced an injury of some kind to one of my facial muscles.

madnmas · 05-28-2009, 08:08 PM

So what ever came out of the lesion thing?

Thelma-Louise · 05-28-2009, 10:50 PM

Well I never went back to the neurologist. Supposedly a spinal tap is needed to confirm MS and even though my cousin on my father's side of the family had it, I did discuss the issue with my primary care dr and he said he felt the lesions could also indicate future Alzheimers but if my symptoms changed or continued to progress then we could consider doing the spinal tap. The thing is - not that I am that familiar with the various forms of MS, but I don't remember my cousin having pain with the onset of it and my biggest problem at that time was just horrendous pain. So me and my dr decided to take a wait and see approach and that is how we left it. Even now when I go for a checkup the issue has never really come up again.

bassclari · 05-29-2009, 06:09 AM

Thank you for answering Thelma-Louise. What you said made perfect sense to me.

Just the other day I found a really good TMJ dentist who diagnosed TMD (he actually took xrays, not like the other dentist who put me off). During this journey to find the root of my pain and spasms, I had requested an appt with a neuro for evaluation for cervical dystonia (a family member has it, and their symptoms are very, very similar to mine, and I felt it would be worth investigating. They mentioned to the neuro during one of their appts about me, and he agreed it is worth looking into). Then I was referred to this dentist by a friend, and thought I would go, it would be one step taken care of before the neuro appt. When I found out about the TMJ disorder, I was wondering if I should cancel my appt with the neuro. The dentist said not to cancel because the waiting list is so long to get into the neuro.

I haven't cancelled yet, I have until 2 weeks before the appt to confirm.