TMJ? (Liesje)

I was diagnosed with TMJ several years ago when I woke up one day and couldn't open my mouth more than about a 1/2 inch.  It was EXTREMELY painful and very scary- after all, I couldn't EAT!!  I went to a physical therapist specializing in TMJ- your dentist will most likely NOT be able to do more than give you a referral- who fit me with a moth splint.  It cost me a LOT and it didn't fit right, so I stopped wearing it- bad Sara....  As it was explained to me, the goal of a splint or mouthgard is to keep you from grinding or clenching at night, and it works because just that little extra distance from jaw to jaw doesn't allow your muscles to unconsiously engage.

My jaw eventually re-opened with an advil regiment and moist heat compresses every few hours.  From there, I did physical therapy weekly, and I learned a LOT... while I do think you should see someone, I can also pass on some of the excersises to help ease the tension.

The way my therapise described it was that my jaw was reacting to joint damage like your ankle would react to a sprain, and the muscles were very taught to "protect the injury"...  And that the healthiest, least invasive correction was a deep stretch......

1) Sit in a straight backed chair with as proper posture as you can muster.  Allow your face to relax and your mouth to hang open.  Place your index and middle fingers just above the "corner" of your jaw and massage gently.  Be very aware of ANY tension in your jaw or face- you may want to do it in a quiet, dark, room.

2) Next, follow your jawbone up to the hinge with your fingers, and open your mouth.  You will feel the lower jaw seem to "expand".  The goal is to pull your lower jaw open and back as close to your neck as you can WITHOUT feeling that bone move or "expand".  Think of it as moving your lower jaw almost straight back.  This is a very difficult excersise, and will make your jaw tired, as it is stretching some deep jaw muscles- the ones most likely responsible for the tension that causes the clicking.  This excersise is the one that helped me the most, and I still do it while watching TV and stuff, or whenever I feel a lot of tension in my jaw.

I would recommend keeping up with this type of excersise pretty much for the rest of your life.

 TMJ is a real pain in the butt...  And as many of the other posters have said, it really can't be cured.  All you can do is strengthen your jaw muscles and keep from chewing gum ever again...

Liesje

snownose

I don't know how helpful this would be, but the teeth guard for football players can be heated in hot water, and then one bites down on it and the imprint of the teeth is set in the teeth guard......

 

Others have suggested this, but then I read that it can do more harm that good b/c often the problem is that the teeth aren't meeting correctly, so if you're using your own bite impression to make the guard and your bite is off, it's just keeping the same problem or making it worse.  The dentist can make a plate that helps correct the bite. 

The bite plate/mouth guard that was made for me by my dentist was to keep me from clenching (wearing at bedtime). It was not made to correct bite. I've had two root canals - TMJ resulting from having my mouth cranked open for so long - and the root canals were due from me clenching down so hard that I cracked my own teeth. I wore the guard for a while but I breathe through my mouth and it forced me to breathe through my nose, causing me to drool. Not really digging that, I stopped wearing it. I manage the TMJ but most importantly I am paying attention to the clenching. I am much more aware now of when I'm doing it, or when I'm in situations that may cause me to clench. Pressing the tongue on the roof of the mouth is a good exercise to bring awareness to the clenching. Hope the articles have some helpful info in there for you. Chiropractic care has been effective for TMJ sufferers, as well.

I wanted to mention for those self-helpers that you can massage the SCM muscle (sternocleidomastoid, named for its attachment points).  I'm trying to locate a good online photo to post.  But check here at Books of Discovery (link).  The photo that comes up is of the face and neck, the largest neck muscle you see there is the SCM.  It is a superficial muscle, close to the surface, not deep, so it's easy to massage.  To make it even easier to grab a hold of  & massage, bring your chin toward your chest...so the ends of the muscle are closer together and you can grab it at this point.  If it is really tight, it may take some effort on your part in working with it.  Loosening this muscle will work towards relieving pressure on the jaw and increase range of motion in neck.  I've seen this work wonders for TMJ sufferers.

Another link on the SCM: Wikipedia

I found an image:

 

 Funny this thread came back up.  I just ate lunch ate lunch at Panera Bread.  Ugh!

I just saw this and wanted to add...

My brother had the surgery to correct his TMJ because it was really bad.  If you ask him if it was worth it, he would tell you 100% NOT AT ALL.  They had to literally stretch his mouth open so wide that they ripped the sides of his mouth.  Think of the flip top head on the toothbrush commercial.  The surgery took 8 hours and he had to have his jaw wired shut for a month!  Everything had to be put through a blender, etc.  It was horrible.  His face looks completely different now because of the way they had to reset his jaw.

Sorry - just my $0.02.

 Yeah I did the fitted mouth piece that I wore for a year straight, cost me over $2500 out of my own pocket (insurance didn't cover it) and I wear it at night.  My jaw got better, no more popping or clicking and my headaches went away.  Now that I'm only wearing it at night, it's beginning to click again.  :(  TMJ sucks and it hurts.  I can't hold my mouth open for long periods of time before pain sets in.  I have chewed gum once in over 10 years and I don't eat Taffy.  I do still eat bagles and the like, but I chew carefully.

The mouthpiece changed how my jaws line up.  What I mean is that it was formed so that when closed, my lower jaw moved forward and down.  This opened up the TM joint to allow for healing.  Well I don't think it heals so much as it just creates space.  However now, without it, my teeth do not meet up.  The only teeth that touch are two of my front teeth.  One on top and one on bottom.  As you can imagine, I slack jaw it a lot.

I do a lot of massageing of the muscles mentioned above and jaw stretching to keep it in shape, and wear that stupid thing at night.  Do I drool?  Yup.  but I still breathe through my nose because my tongue blocks off the airflow in my mouth (habit).  So I typically sleep on my back or with my body at a more than 90 degree angle to the bed to tilt the mouth up a bit.  heh... 

I have  heard of a new therapy, called prolotherapy, that may help a TM joint to actually heal.  My neurologist mentioned it at one point, but TMJ is not covered, so it would be an out of pocket expense to try it.  I might next year.