Tmj

[ogapahndn]

Anyone out there suffer from this? For those who don't know this is when your jaw locks up all the time or grinds alot. Can be painful. Anyone know how to help relieve the symptoms?

[Wakalapi]

Isn't there some kind of mouthpiece you can use at night (like the ones football players and boxers wear)?

[Speedyâ„¢]

Oga, TMJ, or temporomandibular joint pain is usually caused by a condition known as malocclusion. Which really means a bad bite. People who have overbites or underbites as the result of genetics or some kind of facial trauma. Unfortunately not just the jaw can be affected. Headaches are frequent, as well as tingling in the arms and neck and shoulder pain. There are alot of nerves in and around the TMJ area that can be affected. Usually if it is bad dental surgery is needed to correct the problem. Sometimes getting your teeth fixed, altered, or straightened IS the problem though. When you change your natural bite with a procedure, they may look great but the muscles in your jaw might not agree and become strained. Your best bet is to consult your dentist to see if you need that surgery. Hope I helped a little.

[NDNQt]

I wore a bite plate for years. They told me that lots of people with braces end up having to get one. That was probably 15 years ago. Then a couple of years ago I started gritting and grinding my teeth and again and got another one. Strangely when I stopped having bad migraines I quit gritting my teeth. Something about such pain that all I could do was bite down. Now the only time I grit or grind my teeth is when I am in traffic!

Also, for anyone suffering with it one of the worse things you can do is eat ice, gum, tough foods, etc. The dentist said that is just too hard on your jaw!!!

[Jibbyâ„¢]

I have TMJ, it freekin sucks! But contrary to what highspeed said, it is not because I have crooked teeth or an over/underbite. My teeth are perfectly straight and aligned, and I did not wear braces.

It was most likely caused by a good ol' Ojib family tradition; chewing gum till it turns to dust. My jaw pops, cracks and locks. The only way to alleviate the pressure is to crack it like on would crack their knuckles. I went to the dentist and got a mouthpiece (like Wakalapi said) and it helps. But because I am a self-absorbed moronic idiot, I rarely wear it cuz it makes me look dumb. Alas, I suffer the concequences :)

So anyways, when I do wear it, it helps alot. Diminshes my chance of snagging, but makes my mouth feel a whole lot better

[Quapaw Girl]

TMJ sucks. I have it and i never wore braces or have out of aligned teeth. I just grind my teeth too much. But if you have a bite plate, I personally have a night guard to wear when i sleep, so i still look stylen in the day time, it works out well. Anyways, thats my two cents. Hope it works out for ya.

[Singing Eagle]

I would suggest that anyone suffering from this make inquiries to soft tissue body workers (also known as deep muscle) about the possibility of gaining relief from pain and increased movement and motion in the joint. I've had bodywork done on my jaw - it is quite painful at times but it does make a difference.

[ogapahndn]

Thanks for the advice everyone! I'll check into a mouthpiece. I didn't get it from braces either. I grind my teeth really bad at night. I don't think I do it as often now, but when it first hit a couple of years ago I was really stressed. Singing Eagle thanks for the word on massage, I had read that it may help but hadn't tried it yet. Hey Quapaw girl! Maybe it's a Quapaw thing due to our wierd shaped back teeth! LOL Thanks again for the advice everyone, nice to know I'm not the only one walking around powwows cracking my jaw! ROFL

[Quapaw Girl]

Ogahpah-- Yah, ya never know huh? Could be all our stylen quapaw ways..*aayyee* just kidding

[Jammer]

I've had tmj for about 15 years now or so. No one else in my family as far as a I know has it. For some reason I've always grinded my teeth at night. And not I don't have a over/underbite either. I think mine mainly started with stress out the arse. The worse of my tmj was about a year ago or so. My mouth would lock completly up when I would wake up in the morning, kinda like a muscle spasm in the jaws, pushing my teeth together wasn't very pleasent way to wake up, I would have to tense my whole body up and then push both thumbs on my chin and press down pretty hard to unlock my teeth and release the pressure. Since I've had tmj for a good 15 years now, my molars aren't in very good shape, as a result I have aquried a gum desease which is going to require me to go in and have the bad teeth taken out and then my gums scraped and cleaned. Since I am only 23 and don't want partials or dentures the bad teeth that are going to be taken out I'm going to have fake ones drilled back in place. TMJ does suck! And like Jibby said really one of the only ways to release the tension or pain while awake is to crack your jaws. Although it doesn't feel very good when you crack it at first, since alot of your ears and hearing are connected to some of the same nerves in your jaws for a split second or so I get sharp pains shooting up through my ears.

[KC Quapaw]

Originally posted by Quapaw Girl
TMJ sucks. I have it and i never wore braces or have out of aligned teeth. I just grind my teeth too much. But if you have a bite plate, I personally have a night guard to wear when i sleep, so i still look stylen in the day time, it works out well. Anyways, thats my two cents. Hope it works out for ya.

I too wear a night guard. It has helped the pain, but I still get the headaches. But I know they would be way worse without it!!!