Bilateral Tmjd

[TeddyBearsPicnic89]

Have a diagnosis of myofascial tmd which is caused by night time clenching. Started last May and for nearly a year the pain was on the left side, but the past few months it's now on the right hand side too. I was wondering does anyone else with myofascial tmjd experience bilateral symptoms? And does anyone have difficulty eating because of it? Have been mostly on a very soft diet the past year. Due to get an mri to exclude other causes as well as physio/acupuncture because the mouthguard from dentist isn't really helping.

Hopeful bump

Anyone?

I get pain on both sides and before I got a nightguard I couldn't open my mouth properly to eat. What helped me was seeing a cranial osteopath. It's only been 3 weeks but I haven't had any pain since I saw her. If it comes back I'm going to look into botox.

Thank you very much for the reply @Kittii. Sorry to hear you have it too. It's a rubbish thing to have. I have a physio appointment during the week, so hoping that will help but will definitely look into cranial osteopathy too. Do you mind me asking what kind of mouthguard you have?

It's a soft one that my dentist made for me. It goes on my lower teeth. I was worried I wouldn't be able to sleep with it but it's really comfortable and now I can't sleep without it. I've also had no problem with opening my jaw ever since I've had it.

Things to try:
Heated gel face pad but don’t get your hair caught in the Velcro as that is another kind of agony
Massaging jaws regularly with circular movements
Applying ibuprofen gel to you cheeks
Big things however were
Finding a TMJ aware orthodontist who networks with cranial osteopath
Attending cranial oesteopath/ osteopath and seeing if other parts of your body are out of alignment - hips, shoulders etc
Stop chewing gum
Always wear retainers for required time
OP it’s very debilitating. Wishing you improvement quickly

Is it a soft or hard guard @Kittii? I did have a splint made for my upper teeth (michigan splint) but couldn't tolerate it at all. Currently using an nti device which clips over my upper incisors but apparently they can cause issues if used long term, so need to think about a different type of mouthguard.
Thanks for the reply/advice @Mum5net (and the heads up regarding the velcro!) It's encouraging that you also found cranial osteopathy helpful. Do you have a mouthguard too? I suspect my shoulders are quite misaligned as they're always tensed up.

It's soft. I also bought a shiatsu shoulder massage machine thingy from Amazon and use it every night to try to release my shoulder and neck muscles.

On another thread someone recommended the magnesium oil and it’s definitely helped me. I rub it on my jaw and also have magnesium salts in my bath.

this also helps - a hypnosis for when you go to sleep and I do think it helps with the grinding

It’s one of my DC who was diagnosed 8 years ago and even had to wear a face clamp when home from school for 12 hrs a day for a year.
Orthodontist has supplied various splints over the years. Favourite one is a hard upper splint which was repurposed part of final appliance and a balancing soft splint below. Not worn enough as is student. Flares regularly hence the list of little things to keep remembering

Thanks for all the replies everyone. @Kittii I must have a look at the shoulder massager. I definitely find the jaw pain is worse when my neck/shoulders are sore. I've got magnesium spray at home @inthesark so will start using it too. The video has very positive feedback in the comments section. @Mum5net ah it's rough your poor DC has jaw problems. It's bad enough as an adult having it so can't imagine what it's like for kids.

Bought the magnesium spray today, too.