I'm so sorry to read about your problem surfer883. I really had not ever heard of tmj disfiguring its victims (except surgery). The only change in my face that i've noticed is that i'm sadder looking I think. I don't know enough about myofacial pain to know what it can do (except hurt of course).

What are you doing to combat this nightmare of tmj? What kinds of treatments? I saw a picture recently of someone who underwent surgery for her tmj and I was surprised at how invasive it looked. I personally don't believe there is a surgery that can "fix" tmj.

I'd love to here your story if you feel up to it. Sometimes it helps to write everything out (and sometimes it's just too painful). I just had some dental work done on one of my eyeteeth and it appears to have changed my bite surprisingly. I have an overbite and never really thought my front teeth (including the eyeteeth) touched and had anything to do with my bite. My tmj has relaxed after a flare-up that lasted 3 days, but I have an appointment tomorrow with my tmj dentist to see what can be done. He has adjusted (just a little) my bite before and it was great! Always be careful, though, if you have your teeth filed.

Sorry I got going there. I hope and pray that you are getting good help in "fixing" your tmj and the resultant disfigurement. Take care and...

God bless...
Carol

It does cause disfigurement when it gets bad. you will lose height of your face and your chin recedes. I have noticed big changes in my face. I have constant seering pain. I have bone on bone that has ankylosed( fused joints) My jaw opening is getting smaller and smaller and is now 10 mil.
shelly

I am a dentist who had training in Gnathology. I am very sorry to hear that you are suffering from TMJ disorder. Asymmetry of your face can be caused by resorption of a condyle that causes shortening of the affected side of lower jaw. Headache is caused by facial muscle tension which is another manifestation of TMJ disorder. TMJ disorder is mostly caused by bad bite. Surgery is not and should not be an option because it does not yield long term stability and success. FOSA therapy, a diagnostic tool, can be utilized to verify TMJ symptoms are indeed caused by bad bite. It is a reversible treatment and very effective in alleviating many TMJ symptoms.

Dr. Han, That is what caused my issue for starters(having bite fixed) I had a osteotomy(sp) to correct an open bite along with braces and everything went down hill from there. My bite has been perfect since then but the problem is after this my joints did not like the position and they fused together. I had no tmj issues prior to this. After surgery # 1 I developed severe pain in the joints with constant migraines. I let a doctor do open joint surgery x 4 and then the last surgery in 1992 the removed disks and put in fashia grafts. I became worse after each surgery and now at the age of 43 I have a very poor life with chronic pain. If I could go back I wished I would have done nothing.

Combination of orthognathic surgery and orthodontics does not guarantee bite correction. The bite may appear to be correct in naked eyes;however, the only way to identify your true bite is to relate your upper and lower jaws with both condyles fully seated in the fossae, meaning that ball ends of lower jaw must be seated in the sockets of upper jaw. The fact that you had pain after surgery with braces indicates to me that your bite was not really corrected, possibly. Also, your joints did not like the new position tells me that your bite was probably not in physiologically correct position. Patients usually experience TMJ symptoms sometime after the completion of orthodontic treatment. There still is hope. FOSA therapy can alter your bite temporarily into the correct position and can alleviate your pain. Dr. Han

Dr. Han,
What kind of things are done to correct this?
If the joints have bony ankolosis and are fused can things still be corrected? I have no side to side movement and also a great deal of excess bone in the joints. There are no discs whatsoever. The jaw opening is not due to muscle issues but ankolosis. I have been told for years that a total joint needs to be done and I have been to afraid to let anyone touch me. I see my regular dentist for cleaning every 3 months so I dont have any issues but as far as having tmd treated all I have done is accupuncture and Mscontin since 1993 for pain.

Shelly:
It is very difficult to diagnosis without evaluating your dental history and other diagnostic work ups. However, FOSA therapy can alter the bite and allow your body to heal or your joints to remodel. It is a conservative treatment that is extremely effective. I definitely do not recommend any joint surgery.

Surfer883 I know exactly how you feel my face is swollen on one side and before my jaw got stuck the bone on the left side of my face was very prominent when i opened my mouth.

There's not much you can do for the swelling i've found.

Yesterday on The Doctor's TV show there was a lady on there with severe TMJ. She had so much pain and her face had become swollen,etc. The Dr. gave her shots of Botox on the side of her jaw and she said her face is back to normal with no pain. This treatment lasts about 3 months and you must redo it but he said as the Botox relaxes your jaw and you no longer clench it, you may not need to have the injections any longer. He said it is caused mostly from teeth clenching and grinding.