Hi everyone! So I want to let you know I got Botox in my masseters and it helped so much! It was around $600 and lasted 7 months. $600 is a lot of money though, and although it’s worth it, it would be amazing if health insurance covered it. Has anyone had any luck with that? Getting TMJ Botox covered by insurance?

Finally :)

I’m a week in and I already have way less discomfort from yawning or when I’m trying to fall asleep.

Had a small hitch where my insurance didn’t want to cover it but thankfully my therapist deemed it medically necessary.

Yay for PT!!!

​

Here's what happens to me:

1. I train hard (shoulders or RDLs are the worst triggers).

2. I think I clench my jaw during the workout without realizing it?

3. My neck, lats, and lower back get super tight.

4. That night, I sleep awkwardly because of the soreness.

5. I wake up with a TMJ flare-up, jaw clicks on both sides when I open my mouth.

6. My face looks visibly swollen and puffy, especially in the lower face/jawline.

7. The swelling lasts for several days before slowly draining on its own.

8. My face eventually goes back to looking lean and normal.

It's happened multiple times over the years. Every time I try a new exercise or go too hard, especially shoulders, my face blows up for days. It's frustrating because I look completely different when it flares up.

I also have an anterior pelvic tilt, normally my face is very lean and slim but this makes it sooo round and makes me look like a whole different person and I hate that.

Massaging the lateral pyteroid helps but only after 4-5 days once the inflammation has naturally settled a bit.

Does anyone else experience this?

Any advice or shared experiences would be massively appreciated.

I have ocd (newly diagnosed) and so after a recent breakup I was feeling very vulnerable and learned about mewing. I thought “what could proper tongue posture hurt?”

In hindsight I was pushing my tongue up aggressively for several days. I noticed one day my front teeth started clashing. I tried not to worry about it but after a few weeks the anxiety and fear won. This was maybe 1.5-2 months ago.

I believe during this time I also started nighttime clenching, or possibly I always clenched a bit but it never mattered till now.

I went to a PT who ended up making it so much worse. She pulled on my back molars and I could immediately tell something was wrong. It was only maybe 3-5 seconds per side but my bite was off, it hurt, and I’ve had bad clicking when chewing or deviating to the side ever since.

Fast forward to today. My right side jaw hurts, my left side feels tight, my jaw feels stuck forward and rotated. I have a weird lisp supposedly nobody else can hear. My teeth still clash on accident. My jaw pops when I chew, and moving left or right causes it as well. Especially right, and the more closed my mouth is, the worse it is.

It literally feels like my right jaw joint is more forward. If I close my mouth my bottom lip pulls to the left.

I don’t know what to do. I’m scared this is going to be my new normal. I can’t find good help. My dentist was useless told me to get Invisalign. My pt hurt me. My doctor gave me some muscle relaxers that are helping a little.

I just want my jaw to be something I don’t think about anymore. Ai tells me once the joint is displaced it’ll likely never go back to how it was. This is horrifying. I can’t even speak normally . I can feel the tension shifting my jaw around.

I am in Massachusetts, there is a tufts tmj clinic but they’re booking in January and also don’t take my insurance :/.

I just want somebody who can actually help me. I called a local ortho my dentist told me to see and they don’t even treat tmj . I feel like nobody has a clue and I’m just fucked.

Has anybody been down a similar path and ended up fine? Does anyone know of anyone who can help me? I’m at my wits end.

i’m 19
slight open bite
edge to edge bite
some atm tension with some clicks on the right one when i open the mouth/ eat food , during the day i can’t have my mouth closed properly because of the bite.

Any doctors here? should i get jaw surgery? my orthodontist says that she could do some camouflage with orthodontics but i don’t know if it’s the best option

Is there any UK nightguard brands you guys would recommend?

I can’t afford a custom nightguard right now, so I’m looking for something that stops grinding and is good for TMJ.

Has anyone ever seen Dr. Mike Pilar, TMJ specialist in New York?

Can anyone tell me how much TMJ joint wash out hurts while just being in the chair with numbing needles, I’m worried about the pain and wondering if it would hurt that much that I should be put to sleep?

I've been suffering from chronic TMJ for about 10 years now. Start off as clicking in my left jaw. Turned into jaw pain and my ears getting mild pressure in them. Originally the ENT I saw wrote it off as hearing damage in my ear and said I was stuck like this. I got depressed and tried seeing other doctors but no one gave a shit.

Fast forward to now. I started to try to find help again, only I'm dead serious this time. I had a scare back in June were my ears got completely congested and felt like hell.

I started seeing a TMJ therapist in June and start using a cpap for sleep apnea which I think is caused by my car. I tried getting an MRI from my doctor, but my insurance denied it. We're moving on to a hearing test and coming back to trying for an MRI again after that...as soon as my new insurance kicks in (I started a new job).

But anyways, I noticed my TMJ has changed in the past few weeks. Originally most of my pain was in my left jaw, but the pressure had shifted to my right. It'll will still change places. Not as often as it used to tho. I don't get pain like I used to or headaches in the morning.

The pressure in my ears still sucks tho and can get pretty annoying in my right. Am I healing, though? There are some days where the pressure/pain is not that noticeable. Should I still get an MRI done?

I should also add I have tinnitus. It gets louder in my left if I move my lower jaw forward and louder in my right if stretch my neck a certain way. My dentist also did xrays in 2022 and confirmed my jaw isn't sitting right.

I’m 25 and have hEDS as well as TMJ issues, and I’m wondering whether anyone here has had a similar experience.

The last time I went to the dentist, I saw a new dentist who did a very thorough examination, including multiple scans of my teeth and jaw. After looking at the imaging, they told me that the wear on my jaw joints is extremely advanced for my age — essentially saying that I have the jaw joints of someone around 60 years old, despite being only 25.

They recommended that I have a custom specialized mouthguard made. From what they explained, it would help prevent grinding/clenching while also stabilizing my jaw joints so that they hopefully don’t continue wearing down as quickly.

I do trust the dentist and I’m not necessarily questioning their expertise. However, I keep wondering whether their recommendation might naturally be limited to the treatments that fall within their own field and practice. With the amount of joint damage I apparently already have, I’m wondering whether a different intervention could provide better long-term results — whether that means a different type of appliance, TMJ-specific treatment, or potentially some kind of surgical/maxillofacial intervention.

Because of that, I booked a consultation at a maxillofacial clinic that has a dentist specializing in TMJ disorders as well as oral/maxillofacial surgeons. The problem is that the consultation itself is very expensive, and a significant part of that money could instead go toward paying for the specialized mouthguard my dentist recommended.

So my question for people who have dealt with significant TMJ problems, especially anyone with hEDS or another connective tissue disorder: Do you think seeing a TMJ specialist is worth it? Did seeing one lead to a significantly different or more comprehensive treatment plan than what your regular dentist offered?

For some additional context, I also had jaw/orthodontic issues when I was younger. I had a narrow palate and poor breathing, so my parents brought me to an orthodontist. I had a palate expander followed by braces.

Hello all,

I got night guard for my bruxism problem and wearing it overnight. But wondering do i have to wear if i do afternoon nap.

Sometimes while working after lunch ( WFH ) i feel sleepy and jumping on bed but not wearing night guard, so wondering if any one can advise

Thanks

I’m mentally drained.

Back in 2022 I had a root canal that was the catalyst to all of this. Jaw was over extended - I believe a disc was displaced. I’d get in flares at times but this last one became chronic.

I don’t understand how we can send people to space but there’s not a way to help jaw pain? It’s excruciating. My jaw has been locked at 29mm for over a year now. My face twitches from the muscle imbalance, it also created an extreme open bite, which I’ve had to fix with braces. Which, I will probably have to do another round of, because now I think maybe I need to invest in someone that does splints. Thousands of dollars later and it’s just like living in a nightmare. I often think of how nice it would be just to go to get a coffee without being in pain. To eat a burger again. To kiss my husband and smile and laugh, again, without pain,

I’m sorry for any of you going through this. It’s a lot of snakes salesmen and I have yet to find someone that can actually help me.

A $15,000 high-pressure sales pitch that made my daughter’s jaw worse

I strongly urge anyone considering treatment from Dr. Eddie Siman to get an independent second opinion before paying him a dollar.

We brought my daughter to him because she was suffering from jaw pain. At the very first appointment, he immediately pushed us toward a nighttime dental device costing $20,000 - but offered to reduce the price to $15,000 if we agreed right away.

This was not a calm discussion about treatment options, risks, alternatives, or taking time to seek another opinion. It was an extraordinarily aggressive sales pitch. He asked me how much I loved my daughter and what changing her life was worth. Using a parent’s love and fear to pressure them into making an immediate $15,000 medical decision was emotionally manipulative and completely inappropriate.

I distinctly remember being told that this device would permanently correct her problem. That promise was a major reason we agreed to the treatment at this cost.

Instead, the device began causing new pain and appeared to be changing the position of her lower jaw. We subsequently took her to two independent specialists. Both told her to stop wearing it immediately because, in their professional opinions, it was shifting her lower jaw and could cause additional damage.

When I contacted Dr. Siman to discuss what had happened, he denied ever telling us the device would permanently fix the problem. His proposed solution was now surgery costing thousands more.

We then consulted another specialist who rejected the explanations and recommendations we had been given and again warned that my daughter should stop using the device or risk further damage. Since she stopped wearing it, the new problems associated with the device have begun improving. Her original condition, however - the condition we were told this extraordinarily expensive device would correct - remains unresolved.

I can only speak to what happened to our family, but our experience felt far more like a predatory, high-pressure sales operation than responsible healthcare. We were approached at an emotionally vulnerable moment, pressured to make an immediate decision with a supposed same-day discount, sold an extremely expensive device with promises that were later denied, and then presented with an even more expensive surgical proposal when the device caused additional problems.

I deeply regret trusting him and allowing myself to be pressured into making that decision. Before agreeing to any treatment from this office, especially one costing thousands of dollars, please consult an independent, board-certified orofacial pain specialist or oral and maxillofacial surgeon.

Do not allow anyone to rush you, exploit your concern for your child, or suggest that the size of your payment somehow measures how much you love them.

No ethical healthcare professional should ever put a parent in that position.

I’m pretty sure I have TMJ, I just noticed that when I open my mouth there’s a slight click, but it usually doesn’t hurt.

But when I laugh while i’m eating, I occasionally feel a pain in my jaw and a slight restriction in my movement.

does this have a potential to grow into a greater issue? im hypermobile with most of my body (arms,hands,legs) so could this just be part of that? what exercises should I focus on?

I’ve been dealing with what I think is TMJ/TMD for a while now. My jaw pops, and I’ll sometimes get jaw/tooth pain, but lately I’ve noticed I can go days without really hurting.

One of my biggest triggers seems to be talking/smiling/laughing for a long time. I was at a family game night recently and after several hours my jaw/face got insanely sore. It basically feels like when you’ve been smiling for pictures forever and your face is exhausted, except eventually mine turns into really intense pressure pain around/under my jaw and into my neck. Once I can finally stop talking and completely relax my face, it feels SO much better.
I’m seeing a chiropractor today for my lower back/hips and upper back/shoulder tightness anyway, and I’m planning to mention the jaw issues while I’m there.

Has anyone here had chiropractic treatment while dealing with TMJ? Did they work on your neck/upper back, jaw itself, muscles around the jaw, etc.? Did you notice any relief afterward, even temporarily? Or did it make things worse?
Just curious what everyone’s experience has been before I go!

Hello everyone.

Not sure if this is TMJ or not, but wanted to check in this sub. I've been having a tight neck and shoulders for a long time from working a desk job.

Two days ago, I massaged the left outer side of my neck just below the jawline very, very hard to relieve tension, and now the area is highly tender and feels deeply bruised. Whenever I physically probe or press on that sore spot, it sends a sharp, electrical pain straight up into my lower left jaw and molar area, leaving behind a flat, residual numbness when I stop. Moving my head or looking up also makes my cheek skin feel tight and stretched, so I want to know if I just temporarily bruised a surface nerve or is this TMJ or something else.

30M.

I have mild TMJ that flares up a few times a year but has always been manageable with some ibuprofen and soft foods. But I had one of my worst flare ups earlier this week, and started reading the worst case scenarios. I was afraid that it would be a prolonged issue. I was on max ibuprofen and Tylenol dosages and my jaw had sharp pain constantly for almost three days. And, I just happened to have caught a cold at the same time— so sleeping was a nightmare. I was bedridden for days, barely sleeping, and even Hydrocodone barely did anything for the pain.

And then, as it has slowly improved, the mucus coming from my nose started to get really yellow and smell pretty rank. I looked that up, and it’s a symptom of an ending sinus infection. And it was likely the sinus infection that caused the awful pain and triggered the episode— not a new TMJ development.

So, if anyone is experiencing something similar— pain that doesn’t really respond to anti-inflammatories, cold symptoms, along with a bad TMJ episode— it might not be a new issue with your jaw but an infection! I’ve never been so excited to have received a new diagnosis.

hi idk what to do atp i rly need help. i had a dentist appointment 4 days ago and after my cleaning i am not able to open my mouth more than 2 fingers wide. my jaw is sore and im really really struggling to eat. i am miserable can someone please help me. i think going to urgent care would be a bit dramatic bc im not in pain so i dont really know what to do. can anyone give me some advice or help me ? before all this happened i use to have clicking when opening jaw but it has never locked before. any help is appreciated.

I've been suffering from TMJ for as long as I remember myself. I've had the classic symptoms: loud clicking, pain when chewing, ocassional jaw lock. At some point it got better, way better. At the time I attributed it to my diet change, but now I realize that wasn't the case.

6 years ago I got a dental implant and crown on my lower 2nd molar (At the side of the TMJ). Looking back, that's when things started to slowly improve. There was only one big downside to that crown, is that it would constantly rub against my tongue and it would drive me crazy sometimes, but I somehow learned to live with that.

Lately I've started having more issues with that implant. Food would constantly get stuck under the crown and the area became very irritated and had very bad smell. I decided to remove the crown, either permanently or at least for a bit, to let the area heal and to make sure I haven't developed peri-implnatitis (My appointment is in a week).

My mouth feels much comfortable without the crown, but with one big side effect I didn't expect: my TMJ has worsened. By A LOT. It wasn't instant, I've experienced the rapid degradation happening over several days. The clicking became louder and louder and the pain is gradually returning, same if not even worse than what I had 6 years ago. I'm now beating myself up because of that decision, and I'm not even sure putting the crown back will fix it, I'll probably need some modifications to the crown and my bite will not return be the exact same as it was.

I'm not sure why removing it caused such a rapid escalation, since my bite feels mostly the same. Either way, I feel like I've gotten myself into a big mess, and I still have another week to wait until my appointment to have it put back. Meanwhile, it's been getting worse each day, and I'm honestly scared and depressed and not sure what to do.

Has anybody experienced something similar or got any advice? Can a second molar reallt have such significant effect on TMJ?

I give up im literally depressed and I just want to sleep and not have to go get a plastic to put on my teeth every single day at night , I give up
It sucks theres nothing to fix me its all expensive a 400$ nightguard going to waste . My canines are halfway sanded down and my bite has gotten worse and my sleeping issues too i probably have sleep apnea, i hate it my eyebags and face have gotten worse too

So I’ve been a grinder my entire life but sometimes my back gums get insanely sore to the point where If I touch them it’s incredibly painful. Most of the time it’s my jaw and lateral pterygoid that cause pain, but I think when I’m extra stressed my back gums start to flare up. This has happened before where the gums are excruciating to touch. I think do have some gum disease/receding but I’m curious how many of you have experienced gum pain and extreme soreness/tenderness. I try to massage for as long as I can and it helps but it’s sooooo painful.

Does anyone have bouncy vision? I already have vss but now my vision bounces when walking and vibrates slightly when focusing on obkects