Pained & Confused... in TMJ SUPPORT Forum

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Pained & Confused...

Author	Comment
MOhara0310	Pained & Confused...	Lead	[-]
Member Posts: 3 (03/10/11 19:21:30) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Tags : None Remove this ad Dear Readers, I'm brand new to this site and this is my very FIRST posting. I'm glad I came across this forum and I'm hopeful that someone can help me solve my problem. I am 24 years old, right at the threshold of every dentist wanting to remove my wisdom teeth. I have been struggling with an issue for about a year now. It started with my jaw popping and clicking occasionally when I ate. Then it slowly began to do it ALL the time. No matter what I was chewing, it popped every time my teeth came together. No pain though. I didn't have pain for the longest time, it was just inconvenient. I think that's why it was so easy to procrastinate on finding a new dentist. (My childhood dentist retired and his replacement was a little too "rookie" for me.) In the last couple of months it has become a big problem and something I am getting more and more nervous about. There is now pain, all the time really. My jaw itself only opens about an inch. Eating has become a challenge and I am limited to what I can eat. I am a vegetarian so my diet usually consists of softer foods and nothing that really involves much tearing or physical effort, so I feel that my health has not yet been jeopardized. Brushing my teeth is a painful event, seemings though my tooth brush barely fits towards the back molars. I do not feel any swelling, although after reading a few other posts from people, I am thinking there is an infection of some kind. My so-called "rookie" dentist was convinced all of this was caused by my impacted wisdom teeth, so he sent me to a surgeon. The oral surgeon was the one who turned me on to thinking that this was TMD and informed that if I did in fact have the wisdom teeth removed, it would have made the TMD much worse. If anyone can help me better understand my condition or has any advice, I would love to hear from you. -Michelle Last Edited By: Cymy Sue 03/11/11 06:32:10. Edited 1 time.
lu jones		#1	[-]
Posts: 3162 (03/10/11 21:04:44) Senior Member Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Michelle, Sorry you had to find us. This is a great group of caring friends. It would help to know more about you. I live in Ohio. Are you anywhere close to Ohio? I found a wonderful Dr. He has helped me alot. Keep in touch.Lu
Cymy Sue		#2	[-]
Posts: 7276 (03/11/11 07:28:10) Senior Member * Moderator * Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Hello Michelle, Sorry you had to find us, but hopefully we can help. There are many good dentists and other professionals who treat TMJD, but BEWARE. There are also many who advertise as TMJD Specialists and they may not be the best to help you. The best way to find someone who can diagnose and treat your problem is by word of mouth. If you're in an area where you can find others who have had TMJD treatment, their experience with doctors or dentists can be of great help. If not, do some research in your area and find out who does treat TMJD. Many of us have found that dentists may be the best. They've come a long way in the past 2 decades in their knowledge of TMJD problems. You may have to use your instincts about treatment. First, you do need to get an accurate diagnosis. There are many aspects of TM Joint problems. Some minor and some major. All can cause pain and discomfort as well as a limited opening and noise. There is no way you can get appropriate treatment unless the provider knows exactly what's going on. You have 2 joints that have to work in complete balance everytime you open and close your mouth. If they do not, you usually have some type of problems. There are many reasons they can get out of balance and sometimes, it's temporary. I've heard of a few people who had problems and pain for a few months or a year and then it was gone. This is not usually the case. However, it's not always the worst case scenario. TMJD can be completely muscular and there are ways to treat this. You could have actual damage to the joints.There are so many things that could cause your symptoms, you absolutely need to find someone highly qualified to diagnose and treat you. Always get the least invasive treatment you can find that will help. This is usually some type of splint therapy. I had severe muscular problems after many surgeries. Therapeutic massage and a special splint for the surgically damaged finally gave me my life back. I was among the many who had the surgeries in the 80's and 90's. Most of these are not done anymore because they didn't work and left you worse off than you were before. From my experience and talking to doctors and surgeons through the years, they still don't have anything absolute in the surgery field that can help. You do need to find out if you have infection. This can be dangerous. I know people who have had to have their wisdom teeth removed and they did ok. I was one and I don't believe it made my condition worse. That wouldn't be true with everyone. That's one of our biggest problems with trying to help each other. We have an ailment that almost always affects everyone differently and almost everyone responds to treatment differently. It's hard for lay people to give each other advice and this makes it harder for providers to treat. The best we can tell you is to find a knowledgeable and caring doctor or dentist, get an accurate diagnosis and discuss your options. IF you are told you need something invasive done, get another opinion. I edited your post due to the board not holding the width constraint....don't know why.
Michelle Denise		#3	[-]
Posts: 6585 (03/11/11 13:14:32) Senior Member * Moderator * Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Hi Michelle, Welcome to the board and I hope you are able to find some useful information here that you need. I can't think of anything to add to Cymy Sue's excellent reply to your post, but I wanted to say hello. I also suffer from TMJD since 2003 and I am currently on pain management and wear a splint nightly. I did have an TMJD arthroplasty in 2003 that was very unsuccessful from a dentist in Arkansas. My TMJD has gotten better with just splint therapy and medication. I have been told I will need joint replacements in the future, but I really doubt that I will go that route due to the lack of success rate and them not being covered by insurance. I have been to Mayo Clinic and a an oral surgeon in Dallas, TX talking about my situation but found little help other than surgery from these places. I am hoping you can get your TMJ calmed down and eventually have your wisdom teeth removed by an excellent oral surgeon. I think you need their expertise. As Cymy mentioned word of mouth is the best way to go. If you feel comfortable posting your location maybe someone might know someone in your area that is good with TMJD. Best wishes, Michelle Denise Your Signature ... Michelle
MOhara0310	Thanks!	#4	[-]
Member Posts: 3 (03/24/11 17:29:50) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Remove this ad Thanks a lot Cymy Sue! I have started my hunt for a dentist I am comfortable with. I work in a health food/supplement store, so I am very "self diagnostic" at first, which I know is not usually a good thing, but it is because of me being stubborn that brought me to this sight. You're post was very helpful and was the reason for my sudden proactive attitude. I like how you stated "and finally gave me my life back." That is exactly how I feel. I feel like what seems like a such a small issue in comparison to the whole human body has taken a bit of my life away. Anytime I eat, speak and worst of all, laugh, I am reminded of it. I am really looking forward to the day that I can post that statement. Let's hope it's soon ;)
MOhara0310	Location	#5	[-]
Member Posts: 3 (03/24/11 17:32:10) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Michelle Denise, you had mentioned that if I disclose my location someone might be near by enough to suggest someone. Good Call! I live in Watertown NY. It's about 1 hour north of Syracuse NY. Syracuse is not out of the question. Right about now, I am willing to drive to california to get this fixed by someone I trust.
Growlsburg	Sorry to here what your going through	#6	[-]
Member Posts: 8 (03/24/11 23:43:52) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Like others on this I too have been dealing with the reprocutions of not knowing enough, along with just plain bad dentistry done in the early eighties. Have had about sixty plus surgeries done on my head and neck due to my first Dr. Being to cut happy. The Dr. I have now is so much better along with better diagnostic abilities that are available now I have been able to keep the same set of joints for right side, nine years. And with the left side we are on my tenth year. This is a major improvement then any of my past joint replacements. Please find a doctor who will take things slowly, using as many diagnostic tools as your TMD team can use in finding the best treatment that would give you both a larger opening as well as less pain. The joints are so vital in how your occlusion is on a day to day bases in that even the most remote change in the joint can act out in a major occlusion distinction. Edema can also cause so many different physical changes both to your ability to open and close your mouth, but your it can cause your ability to chew. You can hear more noises, have more pops, devation from side topside, as well as limited opening ability. There are medications that can be used for short term that can bring down any edema, but your jaw most likely coils also use a rest in trying a none chewing Type of diet. I had mentioned finding a team not just one single doctor whom would work with you and your joint problems. What I mean is not only a great general dentist, but an oral maxi facial surgeon who specializes in the area of the TMJ. You can Check on any and all dentists no matter what kind they are with your state registry license board of dentistry. The ADA is the American Dental Association. Then in the area of of the Oral Maxi-facial surgeon is not the same as an oral surgeon. Make sure they are accredited in these areas and not just saying that they do such and such procedures. There is a lot of money hungry people out there who don't have you and your best interests in mind. As others have said several times is take your time and don't let a good sales pitch push you into something that could be the opening of a sink hole from hell later on in your life. Once you go under the knife you can't put back what is taken out, or changed through surgery. Welcome to the list, and as others have said before I too am sorry that you ended up having to look for a support group as you are dealing with such painful problems at such a young age. It does seem like most of us did began with our own jaw problems around the age of our early twenties. I hope that you can find support here and make your path of life a little easier. Gentle hugs, Cindy, Sabrina, sterling, and Georgia Belle. My service dogs one retired, one working with me and the last one in training.
Elaine2004		#7	[-]
Posts: 2777 (03/27/11 20:16:02) Senior Member * Moderator * Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Michelle, I guess I must have missed your post. I have been here from day one but so many things going on in my life that I have missed a lot. Don't ever feel you are alone, you are not. Some of us are dealing with other issues as in my case but we are all here for you. We are a small group but we have out lasted some of the other groups because we do care. Cymy is the owner and she has done a lot for all of us, mostly me. I feel like we are sisters and that is something coming from a person you have never met. Elaine TMJ Surgeries 1978, 1989, 1997 L5-S1 Back Fusion-2000 L4-L5 Back Fusion 2002 Last Edited By: Elaine2004 03/28/11 08:31:54. Edited 2 times.
Elaine2004		#8	[-]
Posts: 2777 (03/28/11 08:29:03) Senior Member * Moderator * Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Remove this ad Michelle, I had two surgeries, one in 1987 and 1988 before having my wisdom teeth removed. Had my wisdom teeth removed in May of 1992. It was in October of 1997 that I had the third TMJ surgery with the implant. I don't know if it was due to having the wisdom teeth removed or what but it seemed things got worse after I did. Headaches were more than I could take at that time. So much scar tissue had built up from the previous surgeries that my opening was closing down. Had a tough time getting me open enough to even pull my wisdom teeth. Talk about a swelled up mess afterwards. I really don't have an answer about the wisdom teeth but thought I would let you know my experience. Everyone is different so it kind of hard to say. Take care, Elaine TMJ Surgeries 1978, 1989, 1997 L5-S1 Back Fusion-2000 L4-L5 Back Fusion 2002

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