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Conditions and Diseases > TMJ Forum > TMJ & no bruxism
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Q: TMJ & no bruxism
asked by: brown2l on September 21st, 2009
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I've only had TMJD for a year now. It started with a terribly painful crunching in my right jaw. Ever since then it has been hard to eat, hard to sleep, and think! I have other probs like TN, Fibro, and had Ebstein Barr. I saw the dentist and she had an appliance made. This hasn't done any good for me. You see, I don't grind my teeth. Everyone thinks I do because I used to be a cheek biter so my teeth are ground down. She says my bite is okay. My doc diagnosed me with TMJD last year. I've had an MRI that showed some arthritis but no comments were made about the disc. He sent me to an ENT who said TMJD was the prob. He had my primary doc refer me to a surgeon of some sort. I've yet to make the appt. because I'm not crazy about surgery. Well, for the last 3 days I've had such terrible pain in my ear like the worst ear infection I'd every had!!! I'm really concerned about this. Any advice?
PS. I just found this forum yesterday and signed up right away!
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zeldovich
replied on September 29th, 2009
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Cheek biting shouldn't wear on your teeth like that, or even at all. The teeth are very, very hard. Bruxing occurs with clenching forces that can exceed 400 lbs.-per-square-inch.

Perhaps the night guard your dentist made didn't help, because it wasn't made properly. Many dentists think they know how to make good guards who don't.

Combine Gabitril with Lamictal, Lexapro, or Welbutrin and see what happens. In the meantime, if medically safe, some Clonidine can help a lot. Klonopin can also help a lot, but the effects wear off within about two months. I'd go with the Clonidine. You will need to see a psychiatrist to get these meds.

This combination has stopped my teeth grinding, improved my sleep, and made my jaw feel normal again.

You also need a sleep study done, and you need to see specialists to test

At the same time, you should explore the possibility of other diagnoses with the proper specialists.
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