I drive to a fantastic specialist in Nashville from North Alabama. If you are willing to drive, I am happy to give you his name.
Last edited by hb-mod; 07-09-2012 at 02:10 PM.
Reason: Please do not post unapproved websites, or suggest Internet searches to unapproved websites, per Posting Policy. Thanks!
Well the one I am going to is listed on there...she's the one who put me in the 24/7 splint for about 6 weeks and a nighttime one for the rest of my life....weaned me off the daytime one and then I started tohave pain over my left ear...not too bad...but when I went back to her she mentioned braces to put my jaw into the position the daytime splint had me in. I know braces are a permenent treatment and from what I have read, you want to stay AWAY from anything permenent beccasue if it doesn't help or makes things worse, then there is no way to reverse it.
Of course, the good thing is that you can do research online...the bad news is, you can do research online. Right now I have myself so worked up about thils "life long" problem and no real cure, huge expenses, etc....and reading everyone elses' horror stories ....all has put me in a state of panic....just don't know what to do!
I had major ear pain and stuffiness that led to my TMJD diagnosis. Most of the pain comes from the muscles spasming with the bite out of whack.
Have you done any physical therapy or trigger point releases to help with your treatment? I relied on those treatments for my neck and jaw in addition to the splints to get my muscles loosened up.
I wouldn't consider braces until your muscles are more relaxed and you can find your "natural" bite. Before I went to Phase II with braces, my orthodontist did a CT scan and other testing of my bite in the "new" positioning.
As bad as my TMJD was, there was no way I was willing to go the "weaning" route. My dentist did present it as one of my options though. With my ear issues and resultant hearing loss, I had to find a way to get my lower jaw forward and away from the ear.
so you are still wearing your daytime applinace allthe time? will you do that forever?
The doc I see pulls in serveral other speicalists. One of the first things she had me do was go to a sleep doc and have a sleep study done. I borderline sleep apnea....so the night time appliance she made me has a little whole in the bottom where my tongue sits- to holdmy tonuge in place so it doesn't fall back into my airway....to keep my airway open. She also has me seeing a chiropractor. While I think that helps some....my insurance only covers 20 visits a year and I will soon use all of those. I have tried reflexology and general massage. She is now sending me to an ENT that she referrs alot to for the ear pain....for an evaluation to see if there is anyting he can do about it that may help the TMJ. She has not mentioned physical therapy. What does the PT do? and I am assuming not just any PT will do so what do you ask to find one that will help?
Have you had referrals to all those speicalists? Have you heard of people using all the other spcialists to help treat the whole body?
I am in a repositioning splint for a displaced disc. I have been in it for a little over two months and my symptoms are finally subsiding. And, the doc seems to think that my left disc has partially recaptured. This is a very big deal for me, as I had a limited opening of my mouth and severe joint pain when I began this journey.
For me, it is clear that the only option is a permanent change - meaning braces later on so that my teeth are held in the same position the splint currently has me in. I am just hopeful that my symptoms continue to diminish! I know that I have a "bad bite" based on the x-rays and a long consultation with the specialist. If I "wean" myself off of a daytime splint my symptoms will return, and I likely will displace again. I have committed to wearing a night time splint for the rest of my life.
It appears that there are other specialists somewhat near Memphis, so it might be worth a second opinion from another expert, if you have the time, money, and energy to do it - and are doubting your current care.
so you are still wearing your daytime applinace allthe time? will you do that forever?
The doc I see pulls in serveral other speicalists. One of the first things she had me do was go to a sleep doc and have a sleep study done. I borderline sleep apnea....so the night time appliance she made me has a little whole in the bottom where my tongue sits- to holdmy tonuge in place so it doesn't fall back into my airway....to keep my airway open. She also has me seeing a chiropractor. While I think that helps some....my insurance only covers 20 visits a year and I will soon use all of those. I have tried reflexology and general massage. She is now sending me to an ENT that she referrs alot to for the ear pain....for an evaluation to see if there is anyting he can do about it that may help the TMJ. She has not mentioned physical therapy. What does the PT do? and I am assuming not just any PT will do so what do you ask to find one that will help?
Have you had referrals to all those speicalists? Have you heard of people using all the other spcialists to help treat the whole body?
I've been wearing my lower mandibular repositioning splint for about 26 months now. For the first 14 months, I just wore it during the day and I had an upper splint at night that had a "beak" in the front that kept my bite in the same position as the day splint and a "wedge" that came down behind my lower teeth that kept my lower jaw in a forward position. I'm now in Phase II with upper braces and I'll move from the splint to lower braces in a couple weeks.
In addition to my TMJD related ear issues, I also had reflux and asthma issues. My Pulmonologist, who is also is a sleep specialist, had me do an overnight sleep study. Ironically, the study came not long after I started my splint therapy and they had me wear my upper splint during the test. Surprisingly, my results came back normal. Both my Pulmonologist and Orthodontist still think that the sleep issue is a factor though and the upper splint was providing me with treatment in that regard. It also kept me from bruxing. After well over a decade of bruxing, with the splint I eventually stopped.
My Orthodontist recommended chiropractic support. I didn't get get as much relief from those treatments though. He did a referral to me for a PT I'd been recommended to. The referral was actually for Myofascial Pain and Cervicalgia (the jaw and neck pain related to the TMJD). Those were both covered by my medical insurance where none of my direct TMJD stuff is. My PT has some special training and spends a lot of time working my neck and shoulder. She also does orofacial trigger point releases. Those releases hurt like crazy, but they worked wonders in conjunction with the splint to help those knotted muscles that were in spasm. The Pterygoid and Masseter releases were lifesavers for me. If you can find a PT or massage therapist trained in those orofacial releases, I highly recommend it. My PT also did some more passive adjustments with my alignment since the TMJD seems to also through off my first rib, hip and knee too. I'd ask your TMJ dentist if he works with a PT. If not, maybe you could call some in your area to see if they work with TMJD or do orofacial releases.
I went to my ENT, who is incredibly supportive in other treatments for me, and he did testing and couldn't find anything physically wrong at all. He was willing to provide me with short prescriptions for muscle relaxers to help me with the worst of the ear pain, especially since I couldn't sleep for weeks when the ear pain was so bad. I also had a full Audiology workup and my ears were physically fine, but I found out I'd lost a significant amount of hearing over the course of a couple years. I fully believe the hearing loss is tied to my jaw pushing back into my ear. In addition to coming up with $$ for my TMJ/Orthodontic diagnosis, splints and braces , I also had to find over $4400 for hearing aids.
