Hi elennar,
it sounds like you have started grinding
or clenching your teeth at night when
sleeping. Stress, hormones, bite being
off a bit can all cause you to do so.
Tell your parents and then visit your
dentist and/or doctor. There are a few
things you can try to do right now to get
this under control before it becomes a big
painful issue -
first, have your dentist check your teeth
to make sure your bite is balanced and to
check for any grinding on certain teeth.
Sometimes just filing down one little spot
can make a huge difference but don't allow
the dentist or anyone to do very much
filing or that can make the bite worse.
Your dentist might feel you need to wear a
bite splint at night. If he is qualified
to make a bite splint, that would be okay
to try. Just try and make sure that he
makes the splint specifically for your
bite and not a one-size-fits-all type.
If he is not comfortable making a splint,
ask for a referral to a tmj specialist.
Once you have a splint, make sure that it
is adjusted by the maker. It should need
to be adjusted frequently at first and
then occasionally after that.
Next, your doctor may want to check your
hormones. It seems that high levels of
estrogen affect the jaw. Since you are a
woman, it is normal to have these hormones
but sometimes they can get a little wacky.
Your doctor also might prescribe a very
small dose of valium or zanax to try at
night-time for a couple of weeks to see if
that breaks up the bruxism.
Finally, on your own - do not open your
mouth wide. This can move the disc out
of its position and get caught in a bad
place. Do not pop your jaw as much as
possible. I know that it feels like you
have to when its "off," but it actually
can cause damage over the years. The
best way to get the "off" jaw settled down
is to completely relax the body in the
proper posture position.
Posture - this is a much bigger deal than
you would think, more than I thought all
these years. Because of the computer
age, we sit more at a desk and computer
monitor thrusting our heads towards the
computer monitor. We now think its
normal, but its not. By holding the head
chin forward and up, we are putting extra
strain on the muscles that control our
jaw. Since I know you don't want to
read a book here, check out the following
website for basic information on tmj and
posture (and solutions):
http://www.Nismat.Org/pt
cor/tmj
i can't stress how important posture is to
tmj. I have had tmj for 26 years and
finally worked on correcting my posture
and my tmj has calmed down dramatically.
I have to think about how I am sitting at
the computer and work at keeping my body
where its suppose to be. If you start
now, it might just become a normal habit
for you.
I do have more I could write about, but I
have given you a lot of information to
decipher. I pray that you will catch
this problem now and correct it now before
it becomes a chronic painful disorder and
nightmare for the next 26 years of your
life. It is "fixable," but you have to
do some work at it. Research all the
information you can. Be smart. And
don't let anyone talk about surgery.
It's not necessary at this stage of your
life. I hope and pray for all the best
for you.
God bless...
Carol
