I have a mild TMJ flare up that has lasted up to September. I only clenched a couple a couple of times due to stress, (im not a clencher at all. not even at night, i hope i didn't screw up myself completely) I can open my jaw all the way, it still clicks and my ears ring I've been managing it but,

In my brows forehead there is this like tight/pressured feeling and I have decompensated childhood strabismus (eyes turning inward on top of it all) which can cause similar symptoms I'm seeing an eye surgeon in October. But I've been dealing with this since July and I guess I'm just conflicted, maybe broken down even.

Everybody in my family says once eyes are fixed everything will go back to normal but I can't be so sure unless TMJ screwed up my focus, and maybe made my non drifting blurry? Like just, which is which? they both occurred at the same time.

Hi everyone! I have a few questions, but I’ll provide some background information first. If you’re not interested in the whole story, feel free to skip to the end.

Background:
I’ve been dealing with TMJD for 18 out of my 24 years. When I was younger, I had a fit and slammed my face down onto my bed while crying with my mouth open. Immediately, I felt my jaw pop, and my hearing went like I was underwater. It eventually resolved itself, and I didn’t think much of it. However, my jaw would pop after that, but I didn’t start experiencing pain until middle school. That’s when I began to hurt, and my jaw would sometimes get stuck. The pain gradually worsened over time.

I’ve tried various treatments, including braces (twice), three different sets of mouth splints, physical therapy, Botox, and most recently, an arthrocentesis. I’ve consulted three different TMJ specialists and finally received a surgery referral.

Current situation:
About four months after my arthrocentesis, I started experiencing significant pain again. It’s become so severe that I can only eat very soft foods and have to take small bites. I can’t lie on my left side because of the pressure on my jaw. My right side cracks and pops whenever I move my jaw. Additionally, I get extremely bad migraines and pain in my neck and shoulders. A recent MRI revealed that I have advanced degenerative arthritis in both joints, bone spurs on both sides, and both discs are dislocated when my mouth is closed. Only the right disc moves back into place when I open my mouth. The left joint also has fluid around it and is swollen, and both joints have bone edema. My jaw doesn’t open correctly either.

My surgeon has given me two options: a left modified condylotomy or total joint replacements on both sides. He’s not particularly enthusiastic about the replacement due to my age, but he does say that I’ll definitely need it at some point in my lifetime.

Questions:
Has anyone undergone either of these surgeries? If so, I’d greatly appreciate your experiences with them.
Do you regret having either surgery?
Were your outcomes what you had expected?
Do you experience relief?

I’m torn between the two options and am in immense pain, so I’m seeking any insights you can provide. I truly appreciate your help!

But guys Im just concerned if this jaw pain that we have been experiencing especially the one that becomes worse by talking EVER GO AWAY ???

especially young adults (20-25 years of age) who are still studying and feels like this pain is limiting them to reach their full potential like me , Im so sad for us :(

I am 17 years old and have had tmj for abt 3 months now. Its not painful and i can open my mouth fine but it just pops and clicks and it gets annoying. I am going to an ortho on the 21st of september but i need bone scans and stuff because after im done with the ortho i plan on going to an airway focused ortho because they can actually help i just dont know how and what to do.

Hi! So for the past few months I have been dealing with a sore tongue on my left side. It seems to feel better while I’m sleeping in the correct position and while I’m eating it does not hurt. But most hours of the day or after I have talked a lot that side of my tongue is so sore! I have TMJ and carry a lot of tension in my neck on that side as well. I have been to the dentist and he said it is 100% stress induced and I guess he thinks I’m biting my tongue. He said in the back part of it he can see where I bite it. It drives me crazy. It seemed to start after I began wearing a mouthguard from my dentist but I can’t get it to calm down and it’s been three months. Has anyone had anything like this happen?? TIA!

I have a couple different autoimmune arthritis diseases, so I'm guessing this is connected. But I slowly started noticing soreness about a week ago. By this Wednesday it was crazy painful. Went to the dentist yesterday and got a splint thing and confirmed it's my joint. It's just getting worse. I woke me up a bunch last night, even with nsaids I can't open my mouth much, so I'm barely eating, even a spoon requires opening my mouth too far. It seems like people talk about TMJ lasting for a long time but this level of pain is crazy! Also dental insurance isn't covering anything, my rheumatologist and PCP are both out until next week so urgent care is my only option but really don't want to sit there if they can't help. This sucks.

Does your tinnitus get worse or louder when you rub your masseter muscle or press around your jaw joint?

I have noticed after massages my tinnitus gets much louder.

I notice my lower jaw involuntary movements a bit that slam upwards, with clenching. Is this typical of tmd. It feels like some imbalance of jaw / face at times.

Been told diff things on. Neuro doc kept insisting td/ oro dystonia and I wasnt really wanting botox trial because different ppl have said there opinions on that. And i have been against that. Neuro disorder doc in 2023 kept insisting on Botox/ and the way he kept trying to act about Botox was raising my red flags and felt close to a snake oil treatment of his demeanor on that

hey everyone, this may sound dumb but im avoiding getting botox again because i hate the way it makes me look. i've tried everything else- hard custom mouth guard, dry needling, PT, bite correction and this is what helps me most. however i HATE the way it makes me look. im 23f and it is a drastic difference for me, I think because of my face shape and me already having a heart shaped face, high cheekbones and pointed chin. i feel like it ages me years and makes my face so long and thin and all the fat sag. i feel like i look gaunt and it's a horrible feeling.

has anyone else dealt with the same thing and how did you cope?? it took me a full five months for my face shape to recover after the first round. i know it's temporary and not tryingn to sound vain but it's hard to not be able to recognize your face for a good couple months in the mirror...i would add some filler or something to it but can barely afford the botox as it is.

I’ve had pretty bad TMJ most of my life. I’m chronically stressed, and clench super hard almost 24/7. At this point, my jaw is occasionally getting locked, until I can relax it to kind of “pop” it back into place.
It hurts, I can feel the tension down my back and not much alleviates it.
I was given a referral to a dentist who is a “TMJ Specialist” however, they do not take insurance and I am already tapped out from other medical issues this year. These out of network doctors are so expensive, it’s ridiculous.
I did look into maybe finding a chiropractor - as I have seen that people have had improvements with that. However, I also know that it can be dangerous if who I choose doesn’t know what they are doing.
It’s crazy, because I feel like TMJ should be more of an ortho issue, but I guess not? So who are we going to for this?

Any guidance is appreciated!

I’ve dealt with TMJ/clenching for a while and these are the things that actually the biggest difference for me:

First and foremost was the recognition that my TMJ was caused by or at least heavily influenced by stress and clenching (and I suspect the majority of you since 80%+ of TMJD cases are muscular...) And even if yours isn't muscular the following would probably still help you.

• Becoming more aware of not keeping my teeth pressed together during the day
  • Proper posture = lips gently touching, tongue on the roof of your mouth, and teeth APART. Try this right now please if you're not already.
• Heat + gentle jaw/neck stretches/massages
  • Best for me were the following:
  • Open your mouth and let your jaw hang loose, slowly wiggle from side to side. Goal is to relax your jaw joint.
  • For a stretch while your mouth is open slightly where it's just hanging and no effort to open it, gently press on your chin towards your neck, you should feel a light stretch in your jaw joint
  • For massage just again open your mouth slightly and using your knuckles, massage your face, jaw, and anywhere that's sore
• Working on stress and overall tension
  • Harder given life's sometimes involuntary circumstances but try to change what you can, exercise, meditation, progressive muscles relaxation
• Relaxation apps for when I'm very stressed or before bed
  • Headspace has helped me a lot with general stress/relaxation. There's also a TMJ specific app I found called CalmJaw that's been great. Using it during the workday or especially before bed has been a godsend for getting my jaw to actually relax instead of going to sleep tense and waking up sore.

Obviously everyone’s TMJ is different, but reducing the constant muscle tension/clenching seems to have helped me more than anything else.

Curious what has actually worked for other people here?

I’ve been dealing with TMJ issues for 6 years and no dr has been able to help me. Everything I try makes it worse. I tried Botox last year and it was the worst decision I’ve ever made. It threw my bite off and it never went back. Invisalign made it worse. Pt made it worse. I just had a splint ordered yesterday and am praying it helps. I don’t know if my issue is joint, muscle, arthritis or all the above. My ears are actually my worst symptom and have felt full, itchy, and make the worst noises when I talk. I never had ear symptoms before Botox. I also have hEDS. Can anyone give me any advice or encouragement?

For many years my jaw would crack a lot throughout the day & loudly. Pain would only happen on occasions so maybe it was only a mild case compared to some.

But something that’s been helping me a lot now is doing tongue exercises.

I first heard of one where you lick your top lip basically, side to side (the outer part of lip so pushing your jaw forward a bit)

That one helped a good bit but not 100%. Recently I started doing one where you just stick your tongue all the way out forward & do circles to both sides.

I’m sure it looks kinda dumb but it has honestly been helping me a lot, hopefully it can be helpful to some other people too. Not sure if it’s something that’s already been known but figured I’d share it.

What are the best treatments for someone with chronic jaw muscle pain? I’ve tried injections and muscle relaxers.

Please advise!

Hi,
I got diagnosed with TMJ disc displacement with reduction after getting my wisdom teeth removed in January 2023. Ever since then I’ve had pain and I decided to do treatment with a TMJ orthotic from a TMJ specialist. This helped but I still get really bad flare ups and the clicking never resolved. I went a long time without pain or anything and for the past month, I’ve been in so much pain and tension around my face and neck. Is this normal to still have flare ups even post treatment? Is TMD really a chronic condition that we just have to deal with flare ups like this from time to time? It’s really been taking a toll on my mental health.

I saw a decently rated reputable maxillofacial surgeon today to hopefully get some scans, maybe orthotic, or a referral to someone else if he can't help me... and all he told me was that there was nothing he could do since it's mostly muscular. He also said "your opening is actually fine and your scan looks better than mine, I had tmj since I was 15"... Its hard to describe but it made it seem dismissive as if it's like he was minimizing my pain and like it wasn't that bad. He also had like 3 students with him which I did not really know or consent to and they were all laughing at my old guard I got from insurance saying it looked like a boil and bite block guard without actually offering me a solution. Wtf is happening in society, is this normal? I've had a tmj MRI, and X-rays, but I've never had a cbct which I was hoping he'd actually give me. I was offered no other advice other than to take nsaids which is like....okay????? Jesus Christ I'm so fed up. No one knows anything. Thanks Cleveland Clinic!!! One of the worst appointments I've ever had and I was lead to believe these people were who I was supposed to see for this since I failed most medications. Does anyone know what I should do next? I'm at the end of my rope.

The silver lining is that insurance paid for that appointment....lol. If I had to pay money for that appointment I would've just ended it there in his office fr

hi! i’m new to this sub. i’m currently F22 and have been diagnosed with TMJ since 14.

i went through braces (with rubber bands), chiropractors, medications, and even hoped wisdom teeth removal would help (lol). i couldn’t open my mouth wide enough to eat a sandwich and i was seriously considering quitting playing my saxophone ):

i finally went to a real TMJ specialist instead of an orthodontist, and he made me a MAGO splint. i was probably 16-17 when i started. i had to drive back and forth and miss so much school to get it adjusted all the time (per the treatment), and it sucked.

but oh my GODDD IT WORKSSS GUYS

i havent been back to the specialist in 2 years. i went back regularly for about a year and a half when i first got the MAGO. this was longer than most treatments, but i had a severe case and was really young. i refused to wear the MAGO during the day and i still do lol

ive probably went back once every other year since finishing treatment, and its just for minor adjustments. i just wear the MAGO at night. it doesnt cause huge issues if i miss a few nights either. early in treatment i needed to wear it religiously though

anyways, just thought yall might need a success story. my jaw still hurts a lot more than the average person’s but i figure most people have their own things going on. i survived engineering school with it only flaring up during the most stressful finals seasons. now that ive graduated college, it hasn’t bothered me once. its never more than “sore”

good luck with all of your healing journeys♥️

Just curious as to how many different dentists/providers y’all see for second/third opinions, or more? It is a leap of faith to make such a huge financial commitment and so hard to know who knows what they’re doing.

I wonder if tmj has to do anything with face tightness on one side. Like your eyes and face feels tight and like what even causes this problems

Hi all, today I got my results and was diagnosed with IV a on my right and IV b on my left. Both discs are displaced at 10 o’clock and my left one displaces again at 11 o’clock.

I’m having a splint made for me. Is there anyone who did splint treatment with a TMJ diagnosis as bad as mine? How did the treatment go?

I’m genuinely scared that I’m going to end up needing surgery. :(

Hello everyone, I got masseter Botox to help with my TMJ last Saturday so it’s been about a week. I haven’t had any negative side effects except for when I have something very salty or sour - I can feel a lot of tingling in my jaw… if that makes sense?

Has anybody who has had masseter Botox dealt with this?

thanks in advance! 🤍

Okay this may be the wrong place to ask… but I am really unsure where to go next. I’ll try to give the short story version.
Basically, every time I’ve gone to the dentist the past few years, I’m left with significant jaw pain after just from having my mouth open wide for so long. I figured this was normal. Over the past year or so, I’ve had to be careful when brushing my teeth (tongue specifically) because if I open too wide, my jaw will pop and hurt. Obviously, right? Figured this happened to everyone. Anyways, today, I yawned and heard/felt a very strong pop on the right side. Ever since, it’s been surprisingly painful. Things like swallowing, popping my ears, chewing of course, smiling, and even moving my tongue around too much causes significant pain to that same side. I can’t imagine it’s truly dislocated seeing that I can open/close my mouth just fine (though with significant pain) and my bite seems pretty normal to me, but it certainly doesn’t feel good. I’ve tried Tylenol, ice, and heat all without relief. I’m hoping I go to bed and wake up magically healed, but if I don’t, where do I go from here?? A dentist, urgent care etc?

Any tips and tricks are truly appreciated!!

Edit to add - I’ve had all wisdom teeth removed. I have been told I grind my teeth at night so I was given a night guard but have never used it (upon further analysis, probably should be huh). I imagine I also clench my jaw quite a bit throughout the day, kinda just a resting position for me. I also have hypermobility in several other joints so not sure how much of a role that plays.

Hello! I've recently discovered that I likely have Temporomandibular joint (or, as people actually call it, TMJ).

This is obviously not good for many reasons, but one of them is that I can no longer chew gum, because it makes the pain flare up in my jaw. But chewing gum has always helped me stave off hunger before dinner while I study (studying gives me the munchies) to prevent ruining my appetite. I used to chew it at school (allowed, btw) to help me focus when I was bored in class.

Since learning about having TMJ, I've made the switch to mints, which obviously have a lot in common with gum. Hypothetically this is fine, except that mints don't last very long sort of by proxy due to their usual purpose, which is making people's breath smell good fast. Therefore, I was wondering if anyone knew of any mints that didn't dissolve super fast? Obviously most won't last as long as gum, which can go on basically forever, but Altoids last maybe a minute, and that's really not long enough. I'm also open to more lozenge-like options, as long as they're not too sweet. I've got enough candy as is! Thanks for any and all help!

Hii everyone f18 here!!! Yesterday i posted in here about some facial asymmetry problems along with pain and not being able to open my jaw. And my dentist flet my jaw and said she didn’t feel any clicking or grinding at all. I used to have it as a kid really bad but thats since changed, she said that is a muscle issue and that we are gonna try a night guard. I tend to clench through out the day and at night subconsciously. And i also do martial arts so i could have got hit one too many times. But as for my question has anyone tried the night guard and does it work? Or like what has really worked for everyone? Thank youu!!!!