TMJ? Jaw pain

[Almahart]

Hallo. My jaw is extremely painful. I had two implants done in September. One was taken out after a week as I was in excruciating pain. The dentist said that my jaw muscles had gone into spasm, but as soon as the implant came out it was fine.

The pain has now come back. My regular dentist x rayed and there are no problems with the remaining teeth. I think it’s the same jaw spasm I had before. Nutrients doesn’t touch it

I think it’s coincidence but the top screw bit of the remaining implant also came off when I was feeling my gum last night

Basically the pain is getting worse and we’re going on holiday on Thursday

What should I do?!

Sorry should say nurofen not nutrients

If you have TMD, there isn’t necessarily a cure for it but there are things you can do to help alleviate the pain.

You can start by applying ibuprofen gel in the area of your masseter muscles. Ask your dentist for a mouthguard to prevent wear to your teeth if you grind. They can also give you advice if the problem is a muscle issue or related to your implants.

You can search YouTube for massage techniques. Try to avoid chewy or hard foods, chewing gum, leaning on your jaw etc - you need to give it a break.

Also you can ask your GP for a stronger painkiller if regular OTC products aren’t helping.

I was diagnosed with TMJ disorder by an oral surgeon a few weeks back. He gave me a prescription for pain relief gel and some exercises but they aren’t really helping much. I’ve had dental guards in the past but they make it worse (I grind my teeth at night). The surgeon said anxiety is the cause and if I tackle that it will go (well that’s easier said than done).

Yes, conservative measures didn’t help me much either. My dentist referred me to a dental hospital where the consultant offered me Botox treatment which really helped. No pain at all after treatment however a few cosmetic side effects, now that the Botox has worn off now the pain has mildly returned. Still much better than before though!

Thank you so much for your replies, I’m just back from out of hours GP with some naproxen.

Do either of you have any idea of what brought your TMJ on?

Mine was caused by stress

I have TMD too - also linked to stress. I am a night clencher, and religiously wear my guard, but have cracked up my back teeth previously before I was diagnosed and fitted with it. I do the exercises (you will find them on You Tube, and I find they do help) but think reducing stress is key. Which is not so easy!

During more stressful periods in the past when I also wasn’t getting enough sleep or eating well, my TMD was at its worst; jaw locking, ear pain etc. However I clench/grind my teeth which is a difficult habit to unconsciously stop too, so my muscles/joint are overworking when I’m not stressed.

Mine is stress related. I grind my teeth at night and find myself clenching my jaws during the day too. I’ve lost one molar due to damage and now have to have another removed as it has a crack. That’s upset me more than anything, loosing teeth at 46 😢

Me too. I’ve lost teeth and it really upsets me

What do you find effective for pain relief? The naxopren I got last night isn’t doing much :-(

I am missing a lower molar on each side too, cracking the left one was what made my dentist realise I was clenching. The mouthguard definitely helps protect the teeth, although I think the clenching is now just a habit for me. I am under maxillo-facial now and had to try a few different types of guard, but at my last appointment my consultant said my jaw was sitting in proper alignment again. I have a little flexible partial denture (a single false tooth, not a plate) for each side.

I would recommend speaking to your dentist about this again, with a goal of a referral onwards. The thing is, before a referral you need to have tried conservative measures like a mouth splint for 6 months first, so it’s worth getting one from your dentist ASAP, and ask them for x rays to rule out a bone structure issue.

I also find painkillers useless when my TMD flares up. I found myself constantly taking ibuprofen and having reflux so I try to avoid taking painkillers at all now. I just try to relax, nap, eat soft foods, massage etc until it calms down.

I have TMJ from wisdom tooth removal. I don’t clench or grind. The things I find most useful for getting out of a flare are moist heat, deliberately relaxing my jaw as much as possible, eating gently and no hard foods or gum ever, I don’t open my mouth wide to yawn or bite into things. Sleep on one pillow so that your jaw isn’t too misaligned. Try to keep your posture straight and don’t put your head forward or hold phone with your ear. Also I find massaging my cheeks with my thumb in my mouth and fingers on outside can really help to break the spasms. Massage wherever it feels painful and go right to the back of your mouth. The pain is absolutely horrendous so you have my full sympathy

So do you find that it comes and goes? That is somewhat reassuring as I can’t imagine living with this intensity of pain. It’s like terrible toothache but there is no tooth there. I’m finding ice helps and also just not doing much. Wanted to take youngest to Dumbo today but DH took him as I couldn’t face being trapped in the cinema in pain

Yes it should calm down if you’re really careful and rest it. I liken mine to a sprained ankle. That said, the pain never goes completely but most the time now it’s a 1 but I’m super careful.

When it was a 10 I wanted to throw myself under a train quite honestly. Couldn’t eat, sleep, drink, think, even cry as that made it worse. Try to treat it like a sprain and rest it as much as possible and it should calm down. I also see an osteopath when it’s bad which helps but they must be experienced in treating TMJ or they could do more harm than good.

Yes it will come and go. Your masseter muscles are just like any other muscles in your body like your biceps etc - if you work any muscle too much, it will grow in size and get fatigued. So with your masseter muscles, unfortunately very minor actions can eventually trigger pain, ranging from the food you consume to your posture etc. But with proper relaxation, the muscle should revert back to normal.

I have found magnesium spray to be helpful when it's sore too, and actually use it daily now regardless of how it feels, which I think helps.

I have tmj from yawning and the disc popped out of the tmj. Does anyone have a clicking jaw?