Jaw problems... Advice?

Brattina88

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#1
My jaw has always has a click on the right side when I open it up. Usually it's only when I open it wide, but sometimes it's when I'm chewing. It's never caused me any pain, though the neurologist last year said it could be contributing to my headaches.
The clicks have turned into a much louder pop in the past two months. Loud enough that people near me comment because they can hear it, and its more often - chewing, opening my mouth/yawning, even talking or laughing. The past two weeks I've been feeling pain with the pops.

Wed when I woke up I had a lot of jaw pain, I figured I must've been clenching my jaw in my sleep... I've been really tense and stressed lately and I have chronic nightmares all the time/ don't sleep well so I wasn't too concerned about it. But the jaw pain is getting worse and I feel myself hesitating to talk and clenching my teeth because its hurting (vicious cycle). I've taken OTC pain killers and ill be trying the heating pad tonight.... I'm really concerned how it will feel in the morning; I have a busy day and week planned and no time for any weird health problems lol. I've been googling (big mistake I know) and I wasn't sure if this continues should I see a dr or a dentist. Thing is, I have good insurance that covers dr visits well, but no dental insurance :( and I don't have a ton of extra money laying around for yucks dentists! lol! Advice please???

And sorry so sloppy... I'm on my phone :eek:
 

momto8

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#2
Sounds like TMJ to me. I have it, it sucks :( dentist won't do much for you. Only thing mine does is put me on anti inflammotories when he has to do dental work more than an hour. Google it, it is very common
 

JessLough

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#3
Get a mouth guard and wear it while you sleep. Dentist can't do much, other than attempt to correct with surgery which many won't do unless its to the point of affecting your daily life.
 

Cali Mae

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#4
Sounds like TMJ to me. I have it, it sucks :( dentist won't do much for you. Only thing mine does is put me on anti inflammotories when he has to do dental work more than an hour. Google it, it is very common
This.

My friend has it and went to the doctor for them to diagnose it. I don't think they did anything special for it though.
 

AllieMackie

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#5
TMJ's a major b*tch. I clench at night when I'm stressed and it's been wearing down my teeth, giving me horrible headaches anmd my jaw clicks with varying degrees of severity.

A mouth guard really helps (when I remember to use it). You can get one designed for sleeping at the pharmacy for 30-40 bucks. You boil it, then mold it to your mouth. That's what I use and it works great.
 

Dizzy

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#6
I had a 'clicky' jaw for years! Sometimes would kind of lock too. Sometimes painful clicks.

It's OK now, perfectly fine.

Not sure if it was just whilst my wisdom teeth were coming through, or what...
 

joce

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#7
Try a mouth guard. But the ones fitted to you work sooo much better. Or feel better anyway!
 

momto8

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I don't think they did anything special for it though.
They don't. When I go to the dentist he is extra careful. I have to use a block thing to keep my mouth open for root canals ect.

I have never used a mouth guard, but have heard they can help. An ice pack and heating helps me after long dental visits, usually rotate them.

I have a fb friend who is all holistic and she swears that chiropractors can help..so maybe something to look into.
 
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#9
l***7847;n ***273;***7847;u tham gia di***7877;n ***273;àn. mong dc m***7885;i ng***432;***7901;i giúp ***273;***7905;
 

yv0nne

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#10
TMJ.. I didn't have it before, got surgery on a broken jaw& have it now :( It stinks but not much can be done other than what was mentioned.
 

Zoom

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#11
My chiropractor adjusts my jaw occasionally, but especially after I have any sort of dental work done. It's amazing what a seemingly minor adjustment can do!

A word on chiros: I *adore* mine to the ends of the earth, but I got very lucky in that. I'd been to another one that was decent but never helped me as much as my current one. Not every chiropractor is a good one, just like not every doctor or dog trainer is a good one. If you don't feel like you're getting good results or they don't know how to a number of needed adjustments, go find another one.
 

GoingNowhere

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#12
They don't. When I go to the dentist he is extra careful. I have to use a block thing to keep my mouth open for root canals ect.

I have never used a mouth guard, but have heard they can help. An ice pack and heating helps me after long dental visits, usually rotate them.

I have a fb friend who is all holistic and she swears that chiropractors can help..so maybe something to look into.
I actually did have stuff done for mine. I had bad TMJ for about a year - went to a doctor first (who questioned whether I might be dying from tetanus with lockjaw...!!), then the dentist who directed me to the oral surgeon who gave me steroids and muscle relaxants, and then finally to a TMJ specialist. Basically, I got a really expensive mouthguard that I was told to wear at night, but he also actually shaved the cutting edges of some of my teeth down just a bit so that when I closed my mouth, my teeth would align and touch. Before, when I went to "bite" down straight, only the tip of one or two top teeth would touch the bottom teeth. By doing this, he essentially realigned my jaw and now I don't have so many issues.

I'd say a "boil and mold" mouthguard might be a good first start if you don't have many funds to spend on a legit TMJ specialist... my mouthguard essentially seems to be just that. it keeps me from grinding my teeth and makes my bite align.

Apparently the teeth grinding is exacerbated by stress and other factors, but while you sleep can be the result of you subconsciously trying to fix and align your bite.

The way it was described to me, your tempomandibular joint actually has two "levels" of opening. Up to about an inch, the jaw joint just acts like a hinge. To open your mouth further, though, it needs to kind of slide into a new position. This could be why you mainly here the clicking when you open your mouth wide, not just a bit. For me, the inch wide opening was kind of a plateau point - it took quite a while until I could open my mouth past that point.
 

Dogdragoness

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#13
Every once & a while I have to "pop" mine, every once & a while, I know why it happens to me, I am a horrible tooth grinder & clincher, to the point where I often chew gum to stop myself from grinding & clinching.

I notice I do it more when I get nervous or excited about something. I also know when I have had a heavy grinding night because I almost always wake up with a throbbing headache
 

Brattina88

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#14
Got a mouth guard and a muscle relaxer :D :eek:
Thanks for all of the replies! I really appreciate it. I never knew so many people had the same problem... I am in a fair amount of pain today and very whiny/complainy :(
 

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