I had my wisdom teeth removed and got tmj as a result. I'm not feeling any pain (it's been 4 years) but my right jaw is definitely misaligned and it also pop at times. I haven't seek treatment because a lot of the doctors I talked to don't really know what to do. I'm currently looking for a specialist in the area who knows what he's doing so I don't get worse. I'm having mild tmj and it is affecting my life. I could only imagine what it does for those suffering the full effect. I would like to share information w/ anyone who want to. I would really want to know anyone who's cured of tmj and what they did to achieve that.

I have heard of people getting tmj from wisdom teeth removal. At least I have heard of people reporting that- don't know how much truth medically speaking. But, I do think that when they "pry" your mouth open to do the procedure, they may inadvertantly do some damage. I haven't had my wisdom teeth out because I have tmj and I have to manuver my jaw open, so I am terrified of a dentist doing more damage while i'm unconscious (and subsequently not able to open my mouth for him/her)

For .Brandee,. Ihavetmj and. Shoteka,.
Sadly too many people get tmj (mild or severe) by oral surgeons who just don't seem to realize that opening the mouth so far and long and then yanking at the wisdom teeth is ***bad***. You would think they'd be trained differently or something, I don't know.

Since you all sound like your symptoms might be just starting or mild (one or the other or both), a no-chew diet and muscle relaxant (valium, zanaflex, etc.) at night for a few weeks might allow the muscles to allow relax enough and everything get back where it should. Also use lots of moist heat.

If this doesn't work, the next step would be a bite splint. This can be tricky if you don't find a good bite splint maker/dentist. A good bite splint should have to be adjusted several times by the dentist especially at first and even later. A bite splint will again allow the muscles to relax at night so the disc will go back where it's supposed to. They will be expensive but shouldn't be too far away from $500.00-$800.00. Many insurance companies will pay for them, but you might have to fight a little with them.

***.Do not listen to anyone who suggests braces or surgery of any kind.*** .Conservative methods really ought to work. Yes, tmj can be "cured" or managed.

I hope you all get the proper help that you need. Don't get too frustrated by the many medical people you will run into who don't know squat about tmj. And even the "specialists" are a little scarey too. I pray the best for all of you.

From a long time tmj sufferer who did not use conservative methods at beginning and saw too many ignorant dentists and doctors,
carol

Hello. I began to feel dizzy with severe vertigo last august, and two days before xmas, my wisdom teeth started to hurt! Bacause of the impacted teeth, I now have tmj. Has this ever happened to anyone before? Does the tmj ever go away? I am terrified to be this dizzy for the rest of my life. I was fine before the teeth came on though!
Thanks a lot
danielle

Danielle,
have you had the wisdom teeth removed? If not, you should by a very good oral surgeon and aware of your tmj symptoms. Once the impacted wisdom teeth are removed, your tmj symptoms might disappear after healing.

If your teeth have already been removed, try the methods I mentioned in the earlier posting.

God bless...
Carol

Carol,

thanks for your input, I really appreciate it. Right now my symptoms are more annoying than painful but reading people's stories i'm scared to think that is where i'll end up. I mean thoughts of suicide to end the pain... That's scary!!! I wonder if let alone, tmj would get worse. I can live with this irritation if need be. I don't even think about tmj most of the day. It's only when i'm by myself when I notice it. I just don't want it to get worse. Also it feels like my disc is dislocated. So how is it that relaxing my muscle would get it back to right location. It seems like it would take more than that. Also I would like to know, if you are willing to share, your experiences with tmj. How it came to be and how you have dealt with it and are dealing with it now. Thanks

Hi "ihavetmj,"
it really depends on what your tmj is doing to aggravate you and how you are responding to it. If it is occasionally popping when you open your mouth and that's it, you could ignore it. But any more than that and if there is pain involved, you might want to see your dentist or a tmj dentist. Many people can have the tmj disc out of place and be just fine, it's how it is affecting you that matters.

Yes, tmj can be so painful that people think of suicide. It's also the lack of caring by medical people, family and friends that almost kills. I know I don't have the worst case, thank heavens, as I have not lost much function or had surgery. Those are scary.

I have had tmj for 25 years. I just woke up one morning in excruciating pain and jaw locked. I was dx with tmj right away but was not treated properly, I don't believe, and permanent damage resulted. I had braces but later vetoed down surgery. I saw several different "specialists" trying to get "cured" as I had just got my master's degree in music to become a professional wind musician (bassoon) in a symphony orchestra.

After the first few years of shear h*ll, I did start getting breaks from the continuous pain because of a wonderful chiropractor and bite splint therapy. I advocate massage or physical therapists, though, over chiropractors as I don't think cracking is particularly good. Massaging inside my mouth by the chiro (and massage therapists) has been the best method. The older I have gotten the more the tmj affected my neck and shoulders so therapeutic massage is very necessary for me. I've never lost function but experience various kinds of pain that range from a level 2 to 9 (10 is dying in my book).

At one point about five years ago, I thought I was "cured" as I didn't have pain for over a year, but I now know it was because I was working a very unstressful job that I liked, on a completely liquid diet, and had just started taking an anti-depressant.

A little over two years ago, my tmj flared up nastier than ever and I have a much more difficult time coping with the pain now being older I guess. Finding pain management help has also been a nightmare. So few medical personnel take tmj very seriously. My primary doctor finally did (after many crying breakdowns) and found a neurologist who knows nothing about tmj but was willing to try and help. After many trials and errors with medications, I take prozac, small dose of buspar for night-time clenching, lyrica (a nerve pain med that I don't think really does anything) and vitamins daily, and take vicoprofen, zomig and zanaflex when needed for pain. I've been to physical therapy but just started going to a wonderful massage therapist, I wear a bottom bite splint (the most comfortable and best one i've had), use heat, ice, tens & ultrasound at home when needed, and very important - changed jobs again from a very stressful one back to the one I liked that wasn't and isn't very stressful. I also very recently had my bite balanced for the first time by my tmj dentist by filing some of my teeth. I watched him very closely, though, because this can backfire if too much filing is done. I finally feel like i'm getting this back under some control even though i'm smart enough to know it will flare up when I get under too much stress or tire the jaw muscles too much.

I have done a lot of research on tmj and related problems with all the books I can find and the wonderful internet. Healthboards or support sites are a great source of information also.

Okay, so much for boring you. When I mentioned relaxing your muscles, it's more than just muscles but trying to relax the whole jaw/face/neck area. The disc is cartilage but ligaments, bones and muscles are all important for efficient use of the jaw; similar to a knee joint but much more complicated and used more. Sometimes relaxing muscles helps, sometimes it doesn't. Zanaflex is the first muscle relaxant to help me. Others haven't touched me.

Tmj is probably one of the most misunderstood, misdiagnosed, and mistreated physical problems that exists. One treatment may work for 200 people but make it worse for another 200. Stress highly effects it and appears to be the only joint in the body that surgery has too high of a failure rate to risk it in my opinion. And sadly, the medical and dental communities are all over the board when it comes to good treatment, which usually means tmj patients have to spend more money than should be necessary to find the right treatment.

I could go on and on but this is far too long. I hope I have helped a little bit. I really do have a passion to help fellow tmj sufferers. No one should suffer with this, and go through all the bad information, doctors and dentists out there, and the lack of support that so many do sadly.

Take care of yourself and god bless...
Carol

I did forget to mention how important posture is to tmj. With computers now, we are becoming people who slump and thrust their heads, necks and chins forward. That will definitely contribute to tmj problems. Keep shoulders and chin back and down. It does help.

A year ago I had my wisdom tooth removed, dentist had to give me 10 shots to numb my mouth, then he took an hour to pull my tooth, it was not coming out; so finally he decided to cut it off. O boy, still remember horror i had to go trough an about 3 months, I couldn't open my mouth, hardly could of speak, and a lots of pain. Now not so long ago I had ear neck and head aches along feeling a lump on my soft palate, went to ent doctor, and he sent me to physical therapy doctor. Therapist checked me out and informed that i have tmj and it is very important to start therapy with ultrasound, massage and exercise right away. I have a question to you guys, can my tmj be caused due to that thoth extraction, for sure my jaw feel disaligned after that procedure a year ago but i have never heard about tmj at that time. I need your opinion guys should I sue that dentist, that i was not not informed good enough about side effects like that, and that he did wrong procedure. Someone told me it souldn't take 10 shots to numb me, doc didn't know what he was doing.

I was worried I was a little crazy. I got my wisdom teeth out 6 years ago, and ever since both sides of my jaw pop when I try to open it fully. It's really uncomfortable, and I can't chew gum very often, or chew pen caps (which is my weakness) without making my jaw hurt. I asked my dentist about it once and they just were kind of like "well you probably grind your teeth" but they can obviously tell my the condition of my teeth that I don't, then they said "you probably clench your jaw without realizing it" but that shounds like crap to me. I didn't have the problem before, and now I do. I came looking for other people like me because my right jaw is really starting to hurt more than it has in the past and I don't know what to do to make it better. Usually it doesn't hurt, so I feel lame complaining about a little popping, but it's just seriously annoying and I'd love to just be able to eat a sandwhich without having to pop open my jaw.

Hi k_tai,

I had my wisdom teeth removed 9 years ago and that is where all my problems began. Sometimes your jaw can be damaged by the removal, and other times it is the muscles that are acting up after such trauma. When this is the case it is best to rest your jaw as much as possible, and you will need to stop chewing gum and try to break the habit of pen lid chewing. It is quite possible that you clench in your sleep. Most people probably wouldn't have a clue if they do or not, but if your muscles have been aggrivated by the wisdom teeth removal, then the clenching will just make it continually worsen.

Other suggestions are to try a soft food diet, heat/ice, massage, and physio/physical therapy.

The snap, crackle and pop of the jaw can be annoying, but if it doesn't hurt, then it's probably best to just leave it be, as you may cause it to start hurting by trying to treat it.

Good luck.