Wednesday, April 4, 2012

TMJ?

Does anyone else have TMJ problems? Jaw clicking, jaw locking, jaw/neck pain, headaches, teeth clenching, teeth grinding, etc. anything? I clench my teeth constantly, day and night. It causes headaches, ear pain (ringing too) and jaw pain. My jaw has clicked when I open/close my mouth or chew for years and years. It's getting worse and popping loudly. Today my jaw even locked! It freaked me out because I could only open my mouth halfway. A little research online said to put moist heat on it and massage it, then it would release. I did that and it did eventually release, but it still hurts. So anyway I'm thinking of getting a nighttime mouth guard, but I don't know a lot about them. The really good ones (according to reviews) are so expensive ($60 plus). I don't have health or dental insurance anymore so I can't really afford to go in for advice on this. :( So anyone have any experience with mouth guards? Do they really stop the teeth clenching? It seems like they would easily stop grinding, but how can it stop clenching? Is it just because it keeps your teeth from going closed all the way? Anyway sorry for rambling. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!

4 comments:

  1. Nightguards help a lot with that - they do help with the clenching and also protect your teeth from getting damaged by grinding.

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  2. I have had some minor TMJ problems. My sister has had some severe problems that she couldn't even eat, so she did go to the dentist. She wears a mouth guard. I don't know enough about it to really help, but I definitely think the mouth guard is the way to go. It seemed to help my sister out quite a bit. Good luck. Hope you are feeling better soon.

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  3. I had that when I was your age too. Sometimes my jaw would lock up and I couldn't open my mouth properly. I still grind and clench my teeth, but I seem to have outgrown the TMJ issues in my thirties.

    Mango Momma

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  4. Oh my God, you just described me to a T! :-) I don't grind but I'm a terrible clencher - not just at night but all throguh the day too when I'm stressed & preoccupied - I even catch myself clenching in time to music on the radio sometimes! *rolleyes*

    I've also been told by the dentist that I shoudl really wear a mouthguard as I'm wearing the enamel away and cracking my teeth from all the clenching - plus I keep getting splitting headaches...but they really are so expensive! (wow - only $60 for you?? Over here, they're like $500 - 600! Paul is a terrible night grinder and he actually got one made = but then he never used it! He tried and just coulnt' get used to the sensation and kept gagging and just couldn't do it - so it was a complete waste of money. So I have ot say, I'm leery now about spending that much money on myself. I am just trying to cope with it using mindpower! :-) Before I fall asleep, I stick my tongue between my teeth and repeat to myself many times, "Don't Clench!" - it does seem to work a bit in that since I started doing that, I have clenched less at night. During the day, I just have to catch myself doing it and stop myself in time! :-)

    Mainly, it's finding another way to deal with stress, I think - unfortunately, this seems to be the way that my body chooses to do it!

    Hsin-Yi

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