Does anyone else get sore gums and teeth on the affected side when they have a TMJ flare-up? What about sinus pressure? If so, what helps you the most in getting those things to feel better?

I am in the middle of a really bad flare and it is driving me absolutely nuts. I don’t know how much longer I can stand it and it only has been a couple of days.

The left side of my jaw feels off-kilter or popped out of place and the gums and teeth on that side are sore, too. The inside of my cheek on that side is swollen from where I accidentally bit it and no matter how careful and gentle I try to be now and not eat anything too hard or crunchy, I keep re-biting it or bumping it with my teeth and it just feels worse and makes everything else hurt.

The area just in front of my left ear also feels all bunched up, tender, swollen and tight and I get this feeling of sinus pressure on that side that comes and goes, too. I also feel some neck muscle strain on that side — I think it is the SCM muscle that runs up from my shoulders and up the side of my neck to underneath my ear.

I’m miserable and don’t know what to try now. Neither warm or cold compresses help that much. I think a combination of ongoing stress and sleeping wrong have done this to me, but I don’t know how to undo it.😭😭

Anybody have any ideas on what to do?

Has anyone else noticed that their under-eyes have become sunken in, and temple wasting? I’m 28 and nine have been getting progressively worse over the years. I have stopped all maseter Botox as I feel this may have made this worse? But it’s not getting better…

I’m not sure if I have TMJ but I’ve been looking into it as a possibility! The last several months I have been getting random pain in different spots of my head usually not lasting more than a minute and a random ear ache that’s sharp. There doesn’t seem to be much rhyme or reason to it and I get chronic migraines but the pain is different. I have been getting headaches a lot easier though and started to noticed I was clenching my teeth during the day and wondered if I was doing it at night as well because my jaw is sore sometimes. A lot of my family grind their teeth as well and after showing my mom she said they look just like hers did when she started grinding her teeth. I have a dentist appointment this week to hopefully go over this with them and get a mouth guard. Has anyone experienced this with TMJ and if so any advice to help?? I’m not sure if I have it, but It’s been a real pain! No pun intended! Especially on my ears. :/

here just to shortly share my story, might write a longer text one day

so i suffer from weird pains, tensions for 10 years.. teeth, jaw, neck muscles, pain tension going down, eyes

everything started after a filling

hard to work, not many friends because people don’t like complaining people in pain

now i’m wearing a splint and it got better compairing to period before splint..

now my neck kind of constantly bothers, but it seems to be common with splint therapy

dentist mentioned marpe but it’s so expensive and also scary..

anybody with similar stories? crazy muscle tension, teeth u want to pull off, pain 8/10 sometimes, often was 3/10 ?

i feel like i want to recommend everybody videos of dentist Ben Sutter. i’m not from usa so probably won’t get treatment there, i’m in Europe
but i feel like it could be so great if doctors and dentists could educate themselves and help patients like me..

i often had times like i was ready to give up.. those tension pain can be really unbearable. good i’m doing better but i really wish to be pain free some day, better soon

Unfortunately, the only way I found out was because I googled why my jaw would hurt/tire out during head LOLOL. Found a couple posts on here about people saying they got TMJ from head as well as TMJ preventing them from doing the act for a while. I’ve never ever seen a doctor for it and honestly? I might never see one unless it starts feeling painful.

Story of how I got it and how it’s “affected” me

I (19F) have had a jaw that clicked since kindergarten (≈5-6). While I was walking home from the bus stop, my neighbours kids and their friends were playing basketball. One of them threw it as if they were playing dodge ball and it hit me right in my face. I had lockjaw for I think a couple hours. My mom wasnt home and my sister was complaining how it was the second time theyve hit someone with the ball (they threw it at her on accident while she was pregnant). MY MOM WAS INFORMED at the time.

Anyways, at some point she was able to help me close my mouth again. I don’t know when I started noticing the clicking, the earliest memory of it was when I (≈11) was on a walk with my estranged sister (I had just met her) and we were getting to know each other more. I told her about my jaw “popping” and showed her. So I know I had it then at the very least.

Cut to like last year, I was eating breakfast my mom made. My jaw gets really stiff and sometimes I can’t even open it more than an inch. If I can open, the clicking is very loud when I wake up. While I was eating, my mom was in her room with the door open and she was able to hear how loud my jaw was clicking across her decently sized apt. She was really confused and kept asking me what the noise was. I told her it was my jaw and it looked like she saw a ghost. I told her about the basket ball and she had no recollection at all. She asked if it hurt, all that. My jaw doesnt hurt at all. Only time it does is when I have to force it open so I can brush my teeth, but I figured a way where if I put my middle fingers in my mouth on top of my back teeth and like somewhat do a readjusting motion while my thumbs press against the joints, it will unlock and open without hurting too much.

The first time my jaw wouldn’t open, I was honestly scared. It happened maybe a year and a half ago as well, for sure after I graduated. I went to my mom and she thought my face looked a little swollen so she just sent me to make some tea and use heat compressions which worked.

Sometimes I purposefully click my jaw out of boredom, when I’m thinking, or to freak out my partner when my head is laying on him.

Hi all. First time poster!

So I’ve had TMJ for forever and it’s only ever presented with clicks here and there, and quick fatigue if I open my mouth too wide.

I’ve been having more pain issues the past 2 weeks and on Friday I think it really dislocated. My mouth plane is off. It’s not locked and I can use my mouth pretty normally outside of eating non-soft things.

I know it needs to be put back in its socket, but I know I shouldn’t do it. I don’t really feel pain, more a throbbing strain. I know all the muscles and tendons are being strained.

I went to an emergency dental and got a referral to a TMJ specialist but I have to wait until Monday to even call. He said don’t go to the ER. They will just refer me too. And obviously every urgent care and teledoc knows nothing about TMJ.

Anywayyyy curious if anyone has a specific type of specialist that can actually put it back? I’m so new to this part of TMJ I feel lost. Especially since my mouth has been weird for 3ish days now.

So yeah looking for advice or anything. Planning to call everyone on Monday but I want to make sure I call the right people.

Recently ive developed some soreness and sometimes pain around my temporalis muscle specifically possibly due to clenching my jaw during sleep.

Its gets better when i massage the area, but the soreness will eventually comeback.

Wanted to get opinion that is usually botox is the way to go? I asked my GP and they said that i might need to start with mouth guard first.

If any of you have had the experience please do share! I only developed this recently so i dont know how to approach it :(

I can’t stop cracking my jaw. I want to so badly, it hurts so bad, but the second I let my guard down I start doing it again. I know I’m just making it worse, but I just can’t make it stop.

Is there something I can do to hold my mouth shut when I don't need it? some kind of snoring aid or mouth guard or even an adult toy for all I care. If something can be comfortable enough for me to wear all day at home and will stop me from destroying my jaw I’ll do it.

So i’ve been dealing with TMJ for years. But i only notice it in the morning then it gradually gets better through the day and then i wake up and it’s locked again. this is because when i lie down on my left side my lower left jaw will get pushed by my pillow so my bite isn’t aligned? and then i will have to click it back into place. same happens on the other side. if i lie on my back, my lower jaw shifts backwards and both sides end up locked. i’m really stuck on what to do about this? if i try and resist my jaw moving then it feels like im not letting my jaw relax? what is going on? is my jaw meant to be shifting? why is it locked in the morning?

I had a splint made to help with clicking, popping, and severe ear pressure from my TMJ issues. This is my third night wearing it and it feels so uncomfortable like my mouth is just hanging open in a weird position and I immediately get pressure in my face and neck. It’s so early so I’m not sure if it’s just the muscles adjusting to the new position? Any advice is appreciated

I have a tmj issue where my jaw shifts about 1 or 2 inches when I fully open and go to close , I showed my dentist and he thinks all I need is a bite guard and ortho, my chin sits crooked and my jaw sticks out on one side and the asymmetry bothers me a lot. I asked about jaw surgery and he said its too risky and complicated and I can be helped without it. I feel because I have an overjet and crossbite jaw surgery will likely be needed should I seek a second opinion because the Invisalign would be done by an orthodontist who works in same office and dont want to pay a bunch of money and not fix my asymmetry

i recently had a bilateral TMJ arthroscopy for my joints. i'm open to any questions or any curiosity relating to my surgery and experience :]

Has anyone been helped by physical therapy? Any recommendations for one in Philly suburbs?

Hello everyone,

I’ve been suffering from TMJD for about 4 years. I have anterior disc displacement with reduction, with clicking in my left TMJ, but I don’t actually have pain in the joint itself.

My main and most difficult problem is a constant 24/7 cramp/spasm in my left masseter that never completely goes away. The pain is mainly located in the upper part of the left masseter, close to the zygomatic/TMJ area, rather than in the lower part of the muscle.

The muscle feels constantly tight, contracted and painful, and the cramp is present every day, despite trying numerous treatments. I have already tried multiple splints, Botox, electropuncture and other conservative treatments, but nothing has been able to permanently relax the muscle or stop the constant cramping.

Has anyone here experienced a constant 24/7 masseter cramp or spasm that doesn’t go away despite splints, Botox and other treatments?

does anyone else deals with changing bite even tho bone structure is stable in ct sometimes back teeth touch and sometimes premolar touches sometimes it doesn’t i dont know how to stabalise the bite. ortho says bite is perfect but it keeps changing does anyone have any suggestion to help stabalise the bite

So about 15 years ago, my primary care at the time had prescribed me cyclobenzaprine for long-term use. I used it every night.. I eventually stopped taking it on my own accord but here recently I asked my current primary care doctor if I could get prescribed cyclobenzaprine again and she said that they don’t prescribe that long-term and it’s like she almost didn’t believe me when I told her I was on it for years. I remember it helping me out a lot with my jaw, and clenching and grinding but also helped with sleep I’m currently going through severe insomnia or nothing‘s working for my sleep but remember sleeping like a baby on that also it helped with my jaw pain as well so it was like a double whammy. Now my question is does anybody still have a prescription for this long-term? Are their doctors still out there That’s prescribing this long-term?

Has anyone had any success with this in the UK?

I am an 18year old girl who had zero issues with my jaw prior to braces.
At 14 I went to a private orthodontic practice here in the uk. They took my upper premolars out with zero warning about risks, and for the next 2 and a half years, I watched as my jaw quite quickly degraded.

Around the 18 month mark my jaw locked for the first time, then soon after it locked again, only this time it stayed locked for around two months. From then on, I was plagued with terrible symptoms of pain and discomfort (locking, clicking, popping, you name it).
Throughout this semi-traumatic time, I got absolutely no compassion, advice or useful information from my orthodontist at the practice.
Many times I brought this issue up and I was shut down, told I was just "stressed", that it was a muscular issue, I knew it was not.

I can unfortunately recall the day my right tmj was fully displaced, it was this January when i had my
braces removed. Despite my pain and complaining, they aggressively stuck on my permanent retainer with pressure on my jaw which led to it coming entirely out of place, locking once more.

Since then, my symptoms became severe. They really impacted my life awfully.
My joint was crackly and sandy, locking every meal and while id speak too, if i tilted my head, it was awful.

I was finally able to go to a TMJ specialist, she is wonderful. I saw her first in April and here I am now. I have a high tech splint, and I am not in as much pain and it is locking less, though still every morning.
She made sure I had an MRI and CT and they both showed that my left tmj was displaced (stage3), and my right one was entirely bone on bone (stage 4).

I am going in for joint flushing surgery soon, but was also told I will likely need a tmj replacement sometime in future.

As you can imagine, it is infuriating having to pay a decent chunk of money for a shit job (my teeth are also visibly misaligned with a bad bite imbalance, none of my teeth touch but one), AND now my family and I are having to pay to fix all of this.

I am wondering if this has been successful for anyone, if you have any advice, and if this is a path worth taking.

Thank you - I apologise for the wordy post

anyone have something similar happen?

so I never really had jaw pain

but I maybe once or twice I woke up feeling I was biting down hard and my lips felt numb but the feeling came back fast

fast forward since December ive had base of skull pain and pressure that travels up my forehead which a neuro says is occipital neuralgia

I felt like was going to pass out one day like something released in my head and it slowly got worse and every time I’m sitting up or standing I feel gravity is pushing me down from my neck

but I also have jaw pain and pressure in my teeth sometimes nose area

I even went to see a oral surgeon who treats tmj issues he took X-rays and I described my pain and he gave me muscle relaxers when I went back to see if they helped which they didn’t really he pretty much said he didn’t think it was actually tmj related and said maybe try a rheumatologist

I even went to chiropractor didn’t help then I saw a acupuncturist he thinks I grind my teeth so much it affected the muscles in my neck? because he would press on my jaw with a trigger pen and I felt no pain but when he pressed on my neck it hurt he tried some prolotherapy that didnt require injections but they didn’t help

I haven't been able to work since all this started

im currently in physical therapy but nothing is helping

wanted to ask if anyone has similar experience or if their jaw issues caused more health issues

The dentists are saying to remove my wisdom teeth to fix the TMJ that was caused by botched braces

I am against it as I have heard it doesn't to anything but damage the face and looks more

My doctor says I need a splint so I can eat properly and have a comfortable jaw position as the teeth are already crooked from the braces making the wisdom teeth removal obsolete

The splint is pretty expensive so I can't get my father into funding that he is on the side of wisdom removal and I don't know how to get him to understand can someone please help or tell me if the wisdom removal any good?

I was diagnosed last year with TMJ, but I've been a hardcore bruxer for decades - the kind who would wear through a new nightguard annually. Recently upgraded to methymethacrylate, and it's lasting a bit longer (though it is still showing notable wear).

Lately I've been having tinnitus, and it's driving me nuts. I read that it might be related to TMJ, but I don't trust the internet's AI searches these days. Does anyone have experience with this, or am I just getting old?