Joined: 23 Mar 2005 Posts: 6 Location: South Carolina
Mri Head Vs. Mri Tmj Posted: 03-23-05 15:25pm
My ent has set up a mri of my head for
4-7-05. I also have an appt. With a tmj
specialist on 3-31. I was wondering if
anyone knew if an mri of the head is done
differently than one that only
concentrates on the tmj. I'm sure the tmj
will show on the head mri, but don't you
have to open and close your mouth when
you're doing one for the tmj's? I've
never had an mri before.
Thanks!
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inane5
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 24 Aug 2004 Posts: 8 Location: Houston, TX
Posted: 03-31-05 03:12am
Mri is slower than x-ray, and you're not
supposed to move. Mri is safer than ct or
x-ray since there's no harmful radiation
involved. Mri can also better distinguish
flesh, whereas in x-rays, you see mostly
bone and flesh anomolies. You have
nothing to be afraid of, except the bill
you'll receive for the mri. Lol.
2. When you get the scans back, please
reply to this post. I'm interested in
knowing the source of your tmj. Is your
jaw simply misaligned, or something else
responsible? I'm interested because i'd
like to know if my advice applies to more
serious cases like yours. My advice works
only for people with misaligned jaws --
not people with other serious problems.
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tej313
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 23 Mar 2005 Posts: 6 Location: South Carolina
Posted: 03-31-05 18:09pm
Thanks for replying to both of my posts!
I'll let you know what the outcome is. I
had to go to the ent because I have a
"full" feeling and pressure in my ears. I
wasn't expecting to have to go to a
dentist or tmj specialist for my ears, but
the ent said sometimes it is related and
he wants to rule that out before I get the
final diagnosis of menier's disease. I
would much rather have tmj than menier's
after reading some post on another forum
for menier's. It seems the symptoms I
have now are nothing compared to what is
to come if it is that. I won't be at all
surprised though if the Dr. Finds
something wrong with my tmj because I
notice when I open my mouth, my lower jaw
seems to shift just a little and then goes
back on track. My jaws are often sore in
the mornings and I notice now that the Dr.
Mentioned it to me that I find myself
clinching my teeth during the day as well.
I don't think I grind my teeth at night
because none of my dentists have ever
mentioned that my teeth were worn down or
anything like that. I had braces when I
was in high school so I feel that my teeth
are aligned like they should be. I'm
concerned about the shift thing that
happens but that's been going on for years
and i'm kinda use to it. I read your post
about popping the jaw back into place but
now I understand what you mean by having
to have it misaligned in the first place
for it to work. As far as the mri, i'm
not as much worried about having the
procedure as much as I am about finding
out the results. I'm adopted so I don't
know much about my "genepool". The mri
has been ordered for the head to rule out
any tumors, etc. That may be causing my
symptoms of ear fullness, pressure,
tinnitus, headaches and vertigo. I am
hoping the scan will visualize the tmjs as
well just as a bonus but when I asked my
Dr. This morning, he said he didn't think
it would. Anyway, I didn't mean to talk
your ears off so I had better for now.
I'll keep you posted!!
Thanks again and have a great april fools
day tomorrow and a great weekend!!!
Tammy
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tlcarve
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 07 May 2005 Posts: 7 Location: Selinsgrove, pA
Posted: 05-07-05 08:53am
Mri of the head and mri for tmd is totally
different. I had both and the one of the
head showed nothing. They told me it was
negative, but the mri for tmd focuses
specifically on tmj and all that's
entaled.
