Re: is it tmj?

In Reply to: is it tmj? posted by john on November 07, 2000 at 02:20:40:

: hi everyone! i have jaw popping & cracking..no pain though..went to a dentist & an oms..had a panorex x ray done both doctors said i dont have tmj..mainly because theres no pain& the xray shows normal..could i still have tmj? i have read many times that x rays are not really a reliable test to detemine tmj

I have had TMJ since i was about 4 (im 19 now) and i've had numerous panoramic xray's taken
of my jaw and mouth. All have come back looking completley normal, but i still had extreme pain.
I recently had an MRI done and it showed that i infact did have jaw problems. The jaw bone itself
is too far back and the disk is slipping forward on the right side, and on the left side, the disk is
sort of folding over on itself. So to answer your question, at least in my experience.. i would say
yes it is possible to have completley normal pan x-rays, and still have TMJ. However, i do havea
pretty good amount of pain to support this. Im not a doctor, but I would get more opinions - one
doctor i saw in the past told me that i just dream too much in my sleep - which is why i have such
jaw problems - he gave me a sleep aid medicine and showed me to the door. It really is a shame,
but definatley dont let one doctor always give you a diagnosis :)
Good luck!