I have developed TMJD after my wisdom teeth removal 6 weeks back. I never any kind of TMJ related problems prior to wisdom teeth extraction. Both jaw joints clicks or pops every time I yawn or chew, but left jaw pain during eating. My pain is manageable and don't have any problem with movement of jaw (no jaw locking). I'm only having soft food. I went to another oral surgeon who said my discs we slipped forward for opening mouth too wide during extraction. He gave me Etodolac (400mg twice a day) and Cyclobenzaprine (10mg 1 at bedtime) for 30 days. These pills seems to be helping me a bit. I'm on last week of medication. If this doesn't help me a lot he said he is going to give me a mouth guard to wear 24/7.
Since I'm at early stage of TMJ disorder, Is it possible to cure my TMJ using non-invasive methods? If these non-invasive methods doesn't help me out in couple of months, Should I go for surgery? If so what kind of surgery would be better at earlier stage of TMJ disorder?
I've heard of many cases of TMJD being caused by the extraction of wisdom teeth. Many oral surgeons don't use the care needed when preforming this procedure.
You need to find a dentist/specialist that deals with TMJ disorder. There are many out there, you just need to find them. Oral surgeons *only* do surgery, so most of them will likely suggest surgery for you.
Always stick with non-invasive treatments. (Physical therapy, Massotherapy, Splint Therapy, Chiropractics, Acupuncture, etc.) Try using heat on your jaw periodically as time allows during the day/evening.
Never, never go the surgical route. If you do, you'll likely be on this forum forever. Try doing a search on the surgicals here and there are very, very few that have healed.
I was on this forum many years ago back in '03 due to my young kid having TMJD due to braces. Ten years later, going through 15+ splints and years of invasive treatments, he's finally better. He recently had his wisdom teeth removed. I instructed the surgeon of his 10 year battle with TMJD and to use care with his jaw and he came out fine, with no pain.
cric0523
unfortunately, onset of TMJD following wisdom teeth removal is not that uncommon. Have you had braces in the past, especially with teeth removed?
If disc is a problem, you may want to try a repositioning splint. There are other options, too. Good luck!
This is exactly what happened to me 15 years ago. As the years go by the jaw pain gets worse, as do the head aches. The function becomes more and more limited and you'll find that you can't eat nearly the amount of things you used to. My jaw finally gave completely out about 2.5 years ago. Just stopped working all together. I have been through various therapies and have found physical/massage therapy to be the most helpful. Surgery is not an option in my opinion. Very few jaw surgeries are successful, and in fact the surgery can make the pain and dysfunction even worse. I am still very limited with my function, but i feel like I'm on the road to recovery. I'm seeing a doctor in Fort Worth, Texas who is using endo-nasal balloons to adjust my sphenoid bone, trying to get my skull back to it's natural position. Jaw problems wreak havoc on the skull and the rest of the body. The treatment is called NeuroCranial Restructuring (NCR). Google it and you can see for yourself how this treatment helps TMJ dysfunction. Don't spend year after year in pain only being treated with pills which mask the pain like I did. Best of luck to you!
Hi,
I have been wearing splint for 7 months (only night) but my condition is not getting worse nor better too. I'm not sure how long to wear it to see results. After wearing splint for first 3 months I had relief and started to eat normal food again without much pain. When I went for vacation I skipped wearing splint for 3 weeks and pain is back; back to soft food again. I hope it will get better over time. I'm getting an MRI this week to see if there is any damage to disc or any deterioration. I'll keep you posted.
Based on my personal experiences, you should have seen results long before now. I was almost pain free after 3 months with my splint.
I'd ask further about wearing your splint just at night. I wore a splint at night for years that just protected my teeth. When I got my TMJD splint, it was a repositioning splint that is intended for 24/7 use. From what I understand, wearing your splint at night would do nothing for your waking hours. In fact, I'd think that your jaw is going back to your "bad" positioning during the day which seems to negate your nighttime splint wearing.
You might want to do a little more research on mandibular repositioning splints and their usage so you can develop more questions for your dentist.
Thanks for sharing your experience. I was told to wear only at night. On my next visit I would ask regarding re-positioning splint to wear 24/7. My jaw still clicks but not much pain though. It seems that my problem was joint related not muscles.
Hi,
Today I got MRI results of both joints. My right joint clicks but not all the time. Left joint clicks occasionally. MRI results showed both discs were in normal position during opening and closing and disc shape is normal. And also there is no sign of deterioration in joints. My pain is mild on both left and right side. My question is if MRI shows discs were in normal position why does it clicks?
There is a huge range of "normal" on MRI's for TMJ images. My ortho told me that often radiologists will read the MRI's as normal when you still have issues due to that huge range.
My MRI's came back as "normal" because the discs weren't totally displaced, but when my ortho reviewed the pictures with me, it was obvious that my disc had slipped out of place which resulted in my lower jaw being pushed back towards my ear.
My ortho uses a 3D cone beam tomography scanner. It shows things typical dental x-rays don't show. It can show TMJ problems, look for abscessed teeth, the condition of the roots, looking for dead tissues often resulting from root canals, the status of your sinuses as related to your teeth, see if you have any collapse of your airway (which many people with TMJD seem to have), confirm the positioning of your teeth, check for degenerative joint disease and compression of nerves and blood vessels, and tell if you have any loss of bone.
I've had the scans done 3 times. They confirmed that I had lost about 1/3 of the bone in my condyles and that my left side was much worse than the right, which was where my pain was. I had one before starting my TMJD treatment as a diagnostic tool. I had another one after about 6 months into splint treatment so he could confirm the positioning of my discs to see how well the treatment was working.
I got TMJ after having my wisdom teeth removed too, so did my friend. I started out using a night guard. I've been on anti-inflamatories for a year and a half and muscle relaxers for about 3 months or so. I also have had phsyical therapy. I feel like nothing is working, and physical therapy's effects don't last for very long each time. I just started having the left side of right above my upper lip go numb lately. Has this happened to any one else? What would my next step be? Also i usu***y go to my general practitioner when i have problems, do i need to find a specialist to go to instead?
Can you please give me the doctors info in Fortworth?
Quote:
Originally Posted by JameseyCake
This is exactly what happened to me 15 years ago. As the years go by the jaw pain gets worse, as do the head aches. The function becomes more and more limited and you'll find that you can't eat nearly the amount of things you used to. My jaw finally gave completely out about 2.5 years ago. Just stopped working all together. I have been through various therapies and have found physical/massage therapy to be the most helpful. Surgery is not an option in my opinion. Very few jaw surgeries are successful, and in fact the surgery can make the pain and dysfunction even worse. I am still very limited with my function, but i feel like I'm on the road to recovery. I'm seeing a doctor in Fort Worth, Texas who is using endo-nasal balloons to adjust my sphenoid bone, trying to get my skull back to it's natural position. Jaw problems wreak havoc on the skull and the rest of the body. The treatment is called NeuroCranial Restructuring (NCR). Google it and you can see for yourself how this treatment helps TMJ dysfunction. Don't spend year after year in pain only being treated with pills which mask the pain like I did. Best of luck to you!
