# TMJ help?



## moldie (Sep 25, 1999)

I have had this problem for 30yrs. However it was relieved with grinding down my bite when I was in my 20's. I just read at the TMJ site that is not a good thing to do, and that virtually there is no proven therapy out there.Recently, it has been difficult for me to chew tough foods like steak. I love steak and need to have more protein in my diet, (I hear) because I have fibro. Soy, dairy, and beans cause digestive problems for my IBS. My question is, have any of you found any splints or other therapies helpful for TMJ?


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## charmedimsure (Apr 14, 2004)

My dentist created a night guard for me. I've been very lazy for a while though and have not been using it. I will use it tonight as I have been grinding excessively and currently feel like my teeth are going to fall out. I also get regular massages and try to control my stress. I have been very stressed lately and my body is letting me know about it.


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## M&M (Jan 20, 2002)

I haven't found anything overly helpful. (Sorry!)When mine was particularly bad recently, I took lots of ibuprofen, and Vioxx. (Of course now, instead of Vioxx, it would be Bextra)I stuck to a diet of soft foods, and just waited it out until it got a bit better. (I wonder if using warm and cold compresses would help at all?)I have a couple of friends who have mouthguards, and they say they do help. I haven't been able to afford one yet.Sorry this isn't very helpful! I hope you can find some relief soon. I know that is a terribly miserable feeling!


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## moldie (Sep 25, 1999)

Thank you for your responses char and m & m. I had made an appointment with a dentist who specializes in this. They sent me a multi-paged form to fill out and told me to "kindly bring $100.00 with me to my first appointment. I think that is a bit unusaul. They did not say anything about this over the phone. I think I will call them on it and ask them further about that. My husband told me someone said at work that they would recommend trying a mouth splint that football players use because the ones you get from the dentist are usually over-priced. I don't know how I could know if the splints in the store would be my size, though. I might try the warm compress suggestion, as well as resting my jaw, and ibuprofen if I think I really need it. So far the headaches haven't been too much of a problem for me yet, thankfully.


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## M&M (Jan 20, 2002)

Moulage, Just wanted to check in....Have you had your appointment yet? What happened with the "kindly bring $100" issue?I hope your muscles loosen up soon. It sure gets old having that terrible jaw pain.I read on a TMJ site (I think one that Susan gave me) how to yawn when your jaw is in a flare! It said before you start to yawn, tilt your chin down to your chest, then as you yawn, it won't be able to open very wide. It does help.I don't know if it will help you now, but I just remembered that so I thought I'd post it!


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## weener (Aug 15, 2000)

Hi Moulage and everyone, it's been a long time since I last posted. I hope everyone is doing well and had a good Christmas.I've been wearing a mouthguard on and off for the past 14 years.I started using it again about 6 months ago. It seems to help a bit. I have noticed that I am grinding a lot more lately, must be due to the holiday stress. I try to massage the area of my face where my jaw opens and closes. I can actually hear clicking when I massage that area.Hope you can relief from this.


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## moldie (Sep 25, 1999)

Hi weener and M & M !







Thank you for your support. It hasn't gotten any better. I decided to cancel my appointment aroung the Holidays, because of the $100.00 up front and because I didn't think there would be anything of help for me, just like pretty much everything else with this fibro stuff. I sure would like an x-ray to see what exactly I am dealing with, though. I really think it is deterioration in the joint, as part of osteoarthritis. I did not have the pain that I have now 30yrs ago. Not even a year ago. I had the clicking and locking 30yrs ago, but now it has become more like crackling. It doesn't lock now, as much as it seems to move out of place and return again. The moving out of place is the painful part. Tell me, when you feel both sides of your jaw when you open it, does it feel different on both sides? I feel the joint distinctly moving on the left side when I open and close my mouth, but on the right side, that movement is practically non-existant. That is the side that has the pain. All I have to do is touch the area in a spot close to my ear and it hurts. Sometimes I wonder if it has anything to do with my sleeping on my right almost exclusively for six months last year due to my left sided ahesive capsulitis shoulder problem. This seems like another "itis" problem, meaning there seems to be pain and probably swelling/inflammation in the joint.Oh, well, we'll make it through, won't we my fibro mates? My shoulder pain is virtually gone now, perhaps this jaw pain will subside too, on its own in time. I'm not looking forward to six to nine months of this if its like my shoulder. Does your pain come and go, or is it constant with your jaw?


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## weener (Aug 15, 2000)

M, my TMJ does feel different on both sides. My bad side is my right side (also the side that clicks alot). My left side hardly moves at all.I also notice that I tend to chew on my right side more because of a long overdue dental problem. I don't know if that has anything to do with it.I find that when the tmj is bothering me, the whole right side of my face will start tingling and I'll be sore from the top of my head down to my shoulders. It's weird. For me, it comes and goes, I think? I tend to have a lot of pain normally which I associate with the fm, but with the tmj I tend to be very sensitive around my face area.Hoping you find relief soon.


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## M&M (Jan 20, 2002)

> quote:Tell me, when you feel both sides of your jaw when you open it, does it feel different on both sides? I feel the joint distinctly moving on the left side when I open and close my mouth, but on the right side, that movement is practically non-existant. That is the side that has the pain.


Yes! Mine is exactly the same. I feel virtually no movement on my right side, and that is my most painful side also. *twilight zone music* lolThat's the side that always pops the most, and locks up the most and everything. And I have no idea why.


> quoteoes your pain come and go, or is it constant with your jaw?


Mine tends to come and go. I'll go a long time with no flare up, and then, out of the blue, locked up for 2 weeks, and can barely eat. So weird.The last time, I just took a lot of Vioxx, and waited. It's really no fun when you can't eat. How's your jaw feeling these days? Any improvement?


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## moldie (Sep 25, 1999)

Nope. No improvement. It's just the same. My guess is that perhaps if I ate exclusively soft food and rested it for a week or so, that it might go away, but as soon as I started eating harder foods, or opened my mouth wide a lot, it would come back.I'm thinking about going to a dentist that's in my husband's insurance provider plan. He can x-ray it, and advise me (he does not do splints), and then I will either go to someone who does splints if he is unable to help me.I saw a mouth splint for around $10.00 in a catalogue for this problem that I might try. I don't know. One size-fits-all might not work for me though. With fibro, you know how sensitive we all are to pressure. If it doesn't fit properly, I'll probably rip the sucker out of my mouth in the middle of the night. I don't know if they would take it back if I had put it in my mouth already. Yuck! If they did take it back, it would make me think that perhaps the one they gave me was taken back!


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## Susan Purry (Nov 6, 2001)

Hi moulage & everyone else







I've had TMJ for just over 10 years, and although my jaw no longer locks, I have a lot more pain and clicking, on both sides now. My dentist recommends trying a nightguard to be worn at night, and during the day if necessary, which is made for individual patients after impressions are taken of the upper and lower teeth. Only problem - it's not available on the NHS here in the UK; it costs ï¿½200!I find mine's worse when I'm stressed or anxious, so obviously general relaxation techniques are useful. My dentist advised me to do the following, which I do find helpful:Close your mouth, so your teeth are together. Raise the tip of your tongue along the roof of your mouth, as far back as you can comfortably go. Then slowly open your jaw until the tongue comes forward again. You should be able to feel some of the tightness go in your jaw.


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## Judi (Feb 13, 2005)

hello I am new to the forum and wanted to throw out my two joints worth  both sides of my jaw are long past sticking, and since I broke two teeth and had to have them removed (kept biting down on the filling until it cracked the tooth apart) I do not get pain. However because of my ileo, I have trouble chewing properly. I don't wnat the headaches back but hate getting partially obstructed from food not properly chewed. I do get jaw fatigue! and I sometimes bite myself trying to chew just in the front of my mouth. I have a splint, hard plastic that I wear at night, and sometimes when driving as I tend to clench and grind then as well. Splints should be used when ever you are noticing you are grinding, not just at night . . .so says my hygenist. My jaws crackle and if I try to bite something hard, I can feel then begin to dislocate, like a bad hinge!


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## 19997 (May 13, 2005)

> quote:IBS Self Help and Support Group Forums Discussion Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome TMJ help?


Moulage: Concerning TMJ the Journal of Craniomandibular Practice published an article last year conerning a clinical trail of TheraFlex TMJ. The study was done by Tufts University School of Dental Medicine. An abstract is available at the craino site. Once there search for TheraFlex. The study showed that with 2 weeks of application, TMJ associated pain dropped by 68% and pain relief lasted 5 days after the last application. For your information I've pasted an article I came across on the net. This may enable you to "chew on."San Mateo County TimesPain cream connects with the jaw bone San Mateo company brings relief to jaw pain sufferers By Laura CunninghamSTAFF WRITER Thursday, June 24, 2004 - SAN MATEO -- More than 10 million Americans suffer from a serious condition that limits speech, generates lower jaw and neck pain and often requires surgery. Now, however, a San Mateo-based company named NaBob/Rx has developed Theraflex-TMJ, an herbal-based topical cream that's used to ease muscle pain in the joint connecting the lower jaw and skull, specifically the temporomandibular joint (TMJ). The compound is rubbed on the skin like any other lotion. It absorbs quickly and has a potent wintergreen aroma. Though it is not a cure-all, a recent Tufts University study showed that patients who used Theraflex-TMJ experienced 60 percent less pain after two weeks. The findings were published in the Journal of Craniomandibular Practice. "We found it was effective in reducing TMJ-related pain," said Dr. Noshir R. Mehta, who worked on the study. Mehta is a professor, chairman of general dentistry and director of the Craniofacial Pain Center at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine in the Boston area. "We're proud of the study," said Dr. Robert Gross, one of the product's three co-founders, who lives in San Mateo. "We know it works. If we can help 10 million people, we want to do it," added Gross, a longtime researcher who has studied alternative medicine in this country and abroad. But the little company faces some big hurdles trying to get the product to the masses. John Reid, a partner at NaBob/Rx, said the process of developing a new product and getting it out there is lengthy -- and expensive. The Tufts study alone cost $50,000. "We've tried to get this into stores. We've given Walgreens copies of the study's abstract, but when you look at retail, you're looking at shelf space -- and you actually have to buy shelf space," Reid said. "You can see why every time we find a dime on the ground, we feel like we've won the lottery." Theraflex-TMJ is not a prescription medicine and doesn't need approval from the Food and Drug Administration; it would be sold over the counter if it ever made into drug stores. The company doesn't know when that might happen. For now, the product is being sold over the company's Web site for $24.95. Commonly, people with TMJ disorder experience symptoms such as speech complications, limited facial mobility, lock jaw, pain, and swelling in the face and neck. Because 90 percent of people seeking treatment for TMJ disorders are women of child-bearing age, 47 of the 52 subjects who participated in the Tufts study were female. "You can use a little bit and it goes a long way," said M.J. Sands, a biofeedback technician from Boston who specializes in home pain management and muscle testing of the face and neck at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine. Sands uses the product herself and has recommended that doctors administer it to their patients. "I use a little bit on my shoulders, neck and back," said Sands. "We've used it for arthritis in the fingers and on the jaw joint for patients. It gets tremendous results." She said the relief is immediate. Dr. Silvia Lobo, assistant professor at the Craniofacial Pain Center at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine, also worked on the study. In terms of treating TMJ disorders with herbal components, Lobo said, Theraflex-TMJ "is the first of its kind." TMJ disorders can be so serious, an association was formed to help patients cope with the trauma. "We don't understand all of the ramifications of TMJ," said Terrie Cowley, president and co-founder of the TMJ Association, a nonprofit based in Milwaukee, Wis. She said she had not heard of Theraflex-TMJ. "If you think a miracle cream is going to help our patients," Cowley said, "I would like to see it." For more information about Theraflex-TMJ contact NaBob/Rx at (888) 367-2879 or visit http://www.nabobrx.com/ Staff writer Laura Cunningham can be reached at (650) 348-4329 or at lcunningham###sanmateocountytimes.com .


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