Originally Posted by
Life's a Hillary
I’ve dealt with some pretty bad stress induced TMJ issues so I can relate. I’d suggest finding an actual TMJ specialist. For almost all cases of TMJ it can be successfully treated with a combination of a splint/night guard, NSAIDs, a short course of steroids, and possibly some sleep meds. The reason for the sleep meds are if you sleep hard you won’t clench your teeth near as much at night and that’s one of the biggest causes since you cannot stop yourself as you are asleep. You will also need to start being cognizant of your clenching while awake. Don’t rest your chin on your hand and try to keep your teeth slightly apart and your tongue on the roof of your mouth.
Do not see a surgeon, there are some surgeons who specialize in TMJ but when all you have is a hammer everything looks like a nail. Less than 5% of cases actually need surgery. Avoid any dentist that wants to use an MRI, CT scan, TMJ Doppler, TMJ Sonography, EMG, Kinesiography (jaw tracking), etc. There is no data to support their use but they will absolutely lighten your wallet.
There are two types of exercises that I think are actually worth doing, try them out and see what you think. The first one you take your thumb and place it on your front upper teeth and your index finger on your front lower teeth. Bounce your jaw open 10 times and then hold for a count of 10. Do this 3 times and up to 3 times daily. The other is active resistance. Place your first under your jaw and press up gently while pressing down with your jaw, hold for 6-10 seconds. You’ll be able to hold longer and press harder as your jaw gets better. Next, press on the left side of your jaw with your hand and try to keep it centered by resisting with your jaw. Same count and do the same thing on the right side. Repeat 5 or 6 times and you can do these up to 3 times a day as well.
Last, if nothing else works I’d suggest some form of therapy. Obviously it’s stress induced so you need to get the stress under control or this will be a recurring thing. However, if you take care of your jaw and don’t clench too much it probably won’t be a chronic issue. Let me know if you have any questions, I’m not a doctor in this field or anything but I have extensive personal experience unfortunately and have researched it as much as possible and have a fantastic doctor I use.
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