Hi, my names Liz, I'm 22. My jaw always used to click slightly, never bothered me at all. However this past summer, my jaw disc popped out of place and it has been hell ever since. Even more annoying than the popping on my right side and the clicking on the left, is now both my ears feel completely full of air and fluid and I haven't been able to pop them for about 7 months. I noticed all this it happened after a tiny piece of my retainer broke off. I then suggested to my orthodontist perhaps my bite shifted just a little bit for my bite to change, perhaps causing my disc to slip out of place. He didn't think my bite looked that off and brushed me off without really even checking, but filed down a couple teeth that were clashing a little bit where my piece of retainer broke off.
So I went to Johns Hopkins Hospital recently after being stuck like this for about 9 months, to a jaw doctor for help (supposedly also a tmj specialist). I got there, told him my symptoms, one of which was that my ears are full and he brushed me off and laughed and said, " are you sure it's not just ear wax?" I was offended, and he then told me there's no way my ear problem could be related to my jaw problem and that I would need to see an ear and nose specialist. However, I've done a lot of research and found many, many people suffer from the same ear problem I have and it's usually caused because the eustachian tube is right above the jaw, and if there is pressure on it, air can't flow through evenly. He didn't check my bite, or try to figure out if I grind my teeth at night (even though I'm 90 percent sure I don't). I told him it felt like my bite was off and I showed him where, ( the same spot on the right side where tmj two teeth were clashing that the ortho filed down), he then had me bite on blue paper, said it wasn't biting evenly and had me get those to filed down more. I still feel like my bite is off and he hasn't checked it since.
Well first had me put on muscle relaxers for 3 weeks which did nothing, then said the next step would be a night guard, which he never gave me, then I had an mri which concluded my right jaw disc had moved out of place. He then said he was going to sedate me and try and move my jaw disc back into position by hand before we think about doing surgery to fix it, but that surgery was the next step (which I was shocked how soon he even suggested it). He did the jaw manipulation and when I left he said he got it back into place, but it's been over 2 weeks since then and I can barely open my mouth at all, not even to the point where it used to pop! I could open my mouth wider before. I went back for my check up and he said that it wasn't good and he thinks I'll need surgery to fix it. I'm shocked. He's now having my shove tongue compressors in my mouth everyday to try and get it just back to where it was before, and is now trying to get my a night guard. My jaw still pops, but now it feels worse than before, barely opening at all.
I walked out of the office in tears, I'm so upset, I've been depressed about this for the past 9 months. I just want hope that there's a chance this can get better, but I do not think surgery is the way to go. Considering I haven't done much else to even try and get it back into position. I want to find a new doctor, another tmj specialist. The only reason I came here is because my insurance covered most of the cost there, other places I've check are about 600 dollars per appointment which my family can't really afford right now, but may consider finding a way to pay it if it means there is other real hope being offered out there other than surgery like this doctor is suggesting.
So I guess what I'm really wondering is... do you know if it's possible for this to go away on its own, (mainly meaning can my disc slide back into place?). Are there other treatments available that you know might work besides jumping straight to surgery that might pull my disc in place? Can touching up a bite perhaps work? Also, could my bite feel off because my jaw disc is out of place, or could it just have been off before and now is just popping. Even if my bite was fine before I mean, will my bite still be off most likely now either way because my disc is out of place? I'm at a loss, feeling hopeless and would really like any advice or knowledge that you might have to offer me at this point.
Thank you for your help, I am desperate. :/
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