I have a clicking jaw but no pain. My ortho was very particular that I understood that braces would not improve nor affect my jaw joints. I will be braced in mid Feb 08.
The TMJ specialist I saw said that I have small condyles and my posturing my lower jaw forward to mask my smaller jaw/overbite probably caused the damage which resulted in the clicking and occasional lockjaw.
Who has/had TMJD?
Moderator: bbsadmin
So I went to see this ortho today for a consult. My dentist knew of him, he graduated a few years after my dentist and my dentist called ahead and spoke to him about me.
I got there and he said 'why is it you are here to see me?' I said "why am I here to see you or why am I hear to see an orthodontist?' I thought maybe he wanted to know how I heard about him or who referred me. He said what is it you want me to do for you?
I said I have a bad bite and I want it fixed. So he said but you also have a history of TMJ right? And I said yes, but right now it is okay - and it is unclear if my tmj is causing me discomfort or if it is the bad bite etc.
Bottom line is he won't treat ANYONE who has had TMJ or has active TMJ. He said he will never know if the pain I have is a tooth, or my jaw etc.
I tried to leave as soon as he said this - I was on my lunch hour and I get paid for lunch if I work through which I do every day! I took the time to drive to his office and really didn't want to talk to him if he had no inclination of treating me.
But he kept talking - saying he wish he knew someone who would treat both. I said you don't understand - I don't want my TMJ treated! Been there done that MANY times! I don't want any more splints - I want to straighten my teeth so I can eat properly!
He said you need a 'team' - an ortho and a TMJ doctor in conjunction etc etc. I said no tmj doctor exists - I have been to several. He said well who got you out of pain? I said NO ONE - it worked itself out on its own. I have some aches here and there but that is okay with me, i can tolerate that - worst case scenario is I have some flair ups during treatment.
So he said well I can't treat you and I don't know what to tell you to do. I said I know what I am going to do - either absolutely nothing and just continue to make do as I have been for 2 years or find someone who will fix my bite.
Anyway - he was very nice about it, and I was very nice about it to him. I know it might sound like I wasn't but I really was! He did say he was sorry he wasted my time, that he did know I was a TMJ patient but he wanted to see exactly what I had to say! He was also 20 minutes LATE in seeing me and NO ONE was there ahead of me. So that sort of irritated me - but oh well.
To be continued. I have another appointment with another ortho that my dentist recommended on February 6 - already have a call into my dentist to be SURE this man will treat me!
I got there and he said 'why is it you are here to see me?' I said "why am I here to see you or why am I hear to see an orthodontist?' I thought maybe he wanted to know how I heard about him or who referred me. He said what is it you want me to do for you?
I said I have a bad bite and I want it fixed. So he said but you also have a history of TMJ right? And I said yes, but right now it is okay - and it is unclear if my tmj is causing me discomfort or if it is the bad bite etc.
Bottom line is he won't treat ANYONE who has had TMJ or has active TMJ. He said he will never know if the pain I have is a tooth, or my jaw etc.
I tried to leave as soon as he said this - I was on my lunch hour and I get paid for lunch if I work through which I do every day! I took the time to drive to his office and really didn't want to talk to him if he had no inclination of treating me.
But he kept talking - saying he wish he knew someone who would treat both. I said you don't understand - I don't want my TMJ treated! Been there done that MANY times! I don't want any more splints - I want to straighten my teeth so I can eat properly!
He said you need a 'team' - an ortho and a TMJ doctor in conjunction etc etc. I said no tmj doctor exists - I have been to several. He said well who got you out of pain? I said NO ONE - it worked itself out on its own. I have some aches here and there but that is okay with me, i can tolerate that - worst case scenario is I have some flair ups during treatment.
So he said well I can't treat you and I don't know what to tell you to do. I said I know what I am going to do - either absolutely nothing and just continue to make do as I have been for 2 years or find someone who will fix my bite.
Anyway - he was very nice about it, and I was very nice about it to him. I know it might sound like I wasn't but I really was! He did say he was sorry he wasted my time, that he did know I was a TMJ patient but he wanted to see exactly what I had to say! He was also 20 minutes LATE in seeing me and NO ONE was there ahead of me. So that sort of irritated me - but oh well.
To be continued. I have another appointment with another ortho that my dentist recommended on February 6 - already have a call into my dentist to be SURE this man will treat me!
Where are you at? Ask on Archwired and see if others in your area are being treated. My ortho was more than willing to work with me. Others were less helpful. Her promise, "Based upon what other patients have told me, I can reduce your pain from eight or nine to three or four."
Good luck, this can work for you.
Mike
Good luck, this can work for you.
Mike
I wore braces (this time) for 1294 days or 3 years, 6 months and 17 days.
But who's counting?
Jaw Surgery June 1, 2009
Thanks for praying for me and thinking happy thoughts.
But who's counting?
Jaw Surgery June 1, 2009
Thanks for praying for me and thinking happy thoughts.
Hi and thanks for the response. I live in northern NJ. Which discussion group do I ask others about an ortho who treats TMJ in NJ?
I did find one ortho but he wants me to go through MORE splint therapy and spend another $2500 in splints before he will treat me. That was a few months ago when I was still in discomfort but even if I was pain free he insisted on splints first and I have already gone that route and spent far too much money on a few different splints. I am now almost pain free - for whatever reason, I think it is because my life has calmed down actually.
Anyway - I won't go back to that ortho as his recommendations just left me feeling uneasy. And there were a few things about his office in general I was not crazy about so I prefer to find someone else. I live in an area that is loaded with orthos - so hopefully I can find someone.
Thks again!
I did find one ortho but he wants me to go through MORE splint therapy and spend another $2500 in splints before he will treat me. That was a few months ago when I was still in discomfort but even if I was pain free he insisted on splints first and I have already gone that route and spent far too much money on a few different splints. I am now almost pain free - for whatever reason, I think it is because my life has calmed down actually.
Anyway - I won't go back to that ortho as his recommendations just left me feeling uneasy. And there were a few things about his office in general I was not crazy about so I prefer to find someone else. I live in an area that is loaded with orthos - so hopefully I can find someone.
Thks again!
I'd double post (and apologize) to both this forum and the oral surgery one. While you may not intend to have surgery, which I can't blame you for, that group has more involved cases than those people who want teeth that are straight. I'd ask if anyone has an ortho they'd recommend in your area such as northern, southern, or eastern NJ. I'd also explain you're in need of someone comfortable with dealing with TMJ. I'd also contact oral surgeons in your area and see if they can direct you to those orthos they work with. I want to think that those surgeons that are comfortable with surgical patients may also be more comfortable with TMJ.
You mat want to contact the American Association of Orthodontics for members in your area. This might be a better list to work from than the phone book.
I hope this helps and something works out. I can honestly understand the pain of TMJ and the fact that until you experience it, you can't understand it.
Mike
You mat want to contact the American Association of Orthodontics for members in your area. This might be a better list to work from than the phone book.
I hope this helps and something works out. I can honestly understand the pain of TMJ and the fact that until you experience it, you can't understand it.
Mike
I wore braces (this time) for 1294 days or 3 years, 6 months and 17 days.
But who's counting?
Jaw Surgery June 1, 2009
Thanks for praying for me and thinking happy thoughts.
But who's counting?
Jaw Surgery June 1, 2009
Thanks for praying for me and thinking happy thoughts.
I also have braces for my TMJ issues. I had actually been wearing a splint at night, but my ortho said that I should wear a splint 'as much as I could' for several months before getting into treatment. She wanted my jaw to be 'relaxed' before shifting my bite -which she is now doing quite a bit-. I had a deep bite + crossbite.
I wore the splint and now I am on braces (+ nance button + lingual arch +buildups+elastics...). I feel comfortable with my hardware and the most important thing: my jaw does not ache anymore. I am definetly glad I did that...
I wore the splint and now I am on braces (+ nance button + lingual arch +buildups+elastics...). I feel comfortable with my hardware and the most important thing: my jaw does not ache anymore. I am definetly glad I did that...
I am 36 w/ braces for the 2nd time, 20 years later. I originally had them when I was 15 and had 4 teeth extracted at this time (ortho experimental time period). I wore them for about 1 1/2 years, retainer for another year and they were perfect. Skip ahead 2 years and my wisdom teeth were beginning to bother me, so I had them taken out. Soon after this, my teeth began to shift and my bite was now off and I had a popping and clicking in my left ear along with numbness on that side of my face, and couldn't open my mouth very wide anymore. My dentist recommended me to a TMJ specialist where I was fitted with a splint that I wore for about a year. It allowed me to open my mouth further, the clicking and numbness also subsided. Over the next few years, my teeth still continued to shift and my top arch was narrowing. About a year ago, I had had enough, so I began looking for an Orthodontist that specialized in TMJ treatment. I got them on in October and they already look pretty good if I don't say so myself. I went with upper ceramics and lower metal. My treatment time is expected to be 20 months minimum
I can now smile proudly, even with my braces!!
I can now smile proudly, even with my braces!!I've had a similar experience with every "specialist" I've seen when it comes to my TMJD.beth1966 wrote: Anyway - he was very nice about it, and I was very nice about it to him. I know it might sound like I wasn't but I really was! He did say he was sorry he wasted my time, that he did know I was a TMJ patient but he wanted to see exactly what I had to say! He was also 20 minutes LATE in seeing me and NO ONE was there ahead of me. So that sort of irritated me - but oh well.
To be continued. I have another appointment with another ortho that my dentist recommended on February 6 - already have a call into my dentist to be SURE this man will treat me!
The last oral surgeon I saw, the best in this region, who supposedly has a well documented history of treating this condition told me that my particular case was so bad that there was nothing that could be done for me. That my arthritis and degeneration was so bad in my joints, I would lose all jaw function in 8 years and the only thing I could do is treat the pain with narcotic pain killers.
Thankfully, he was not 100% right. I pressed very hard the day he delivered his hopeless diagnosis for another option and was given a prescription for physical therapy. I was very lucky to fall into the hands of a massage therapist who has been treating TMJ pains and disorders for more than 20 years.
It's been a very long road to discovery and treatment but I have since worked through the TMJ pain and am having braces put on Feb 21st to begin the correction with the jaw and alignments. I still have physical therapy for the muscles and tendons that interact and react to my TMJD and I'm hopeful that this will benefit me as I adjust to having braces.
The conclusion I have come to regarding the oral surgeon is that because he is a specialist he took a very narrow view to my treatment. He decided that because surgery was not an option for me- there were no options for me. His diagnosis may very well have come to pass if I did as he expected- took pain killers and waited.
I hope your appointment with the new orthodontist goes well, beth. Don't give up! Just because a "specialist" or "doctor" tells you something doesn't make them right- or make what they tell you true.
beth1996,
Please be careful with your orthodontic treatment. I did not have TMJ before I started orthodontic work, but now I have TMJ and facial nerve paralysis. I just consulted a orthodontist-TMJ specialist, the only dentist in town that does both. He cofirmed that there could be causal relationships, which in my case, could be orthdontic work caused TMJ and TMJ caused facial nerve paralysis. He is very very expensive. Diagnosis only would take $3000-4000, and treatment would be $8000/year. I have decided to get my brace off ASAP, and see what happens next.
Be extremely careful, because the teeth bone movement can cause misalignment of jaw bones. The orthodontist-TMJ specialist commented that most orthdontists tried to find your "best bite" with eyes blinded since they don't understand the jaw.
In my case, if I have knowns all this in advance, I would never started the orthodontic treatment. In your case, I strongly recommend you to see an orthdontist-TMJ specialist. There are very few in the country. However, they might be the best people to treat your case.
Please be careful with your orthodontic treatment. I did not have TMJ before I started orthodontic work, but now I have TMJ and facial nerve paralysis. I just consulted a orthodontist-TMJ specialist, the only dentist in town that does both. He cofirmed that there could be causal relationships, which in my case, could be orthdontic work caused TMJ and TMJ caused facial nerve paralysis. He is very very expensive. Diagnosis only would take $3000-4000, and treatment would be $8000/year. I have decided to get my brace off ASAP, and see what happens next.
Be extremely careful, because the teeth bone movement can cause misalignment of jaw bones. The orthodontist-TMJ specialist commented that most orthdontists tried to find your "best bite" with eyes blinded since they don't understand the jaw.
In my case, if I have knowns all this in advance, I would never started the orthodontic treatment. In your case, I strongly recommend you to see an orthdontist-TMJ specialist. There are very few in the country. However, they might be the best people to treat your case.
Beth, take a look at this.
http://www.dental--health.com/tmj4.html
Question:
I have been diagnosed with TMJ. I am wondering if having braces put back on will help. This is the way I would like to go. I wore braces for almost three years when I was a freshman through a junior in highschool, but my orthodontist took them off early because (he was trying to be nice) he figured it was good.
I only wore rubberbands for a month and I needed to have worn them for at least 4. What should I do? I would really like to have my braces put back on not only to fix the TMJ but to also make my teeth a little straighter and my bite look better. Thanks for your help, Kristin
Answer:
Kristin, if you were to put the braces back on for TMJ purposes, you need to find an orthodontist who treats TMJ problems and understands how teeth can compress the joints.
A lot of TMJ problems are actually caused by braces, due to the fact that your teeth tend to shift backwards which strains the TMJoint. If you do through ortho again I would recommend that you have TMJ X-rays to properly evaluate the position of your joints and work towards establishing harmony between teeth, muscles, nerves, and joints.
Not too many dentists understand this philosophy, I hope your orthodontist does. Whatever you do, do not undertake any treatment that plans on shifting your front teeth backwards. Your bite will most likely need to be "raised" and your front teeth will need some "freedom" for chewing. Sit down with your orthodontist and discuss these things carefully.
Editorial Staff
http://www.dental--health.com/tmj4.html
Question:
I have been diagnosed with TMJ. I am wondering if having braces put back on will help. This is the way I would like to go. I wore braces for almost three years when I was a freshman through a junior in highschool, but my orthodontist took them off early because (he was trying to be nice) he figured it was good.
I only wore rubberbands for a month and I needed to have worn them for at least 4. What should I do? I would really like to have my braces put back on not only to fix the TMJ but to also make my teeth a little straighter and my bite look better. Thanks for your help, Kristin
Answer:
Kristin, if you were to put the braces back on for TMJ purposes, you need to find an orthodontist who treats TMJ problems and understands how teeth can compress the joints.
A lot of TMJ problems are actually caused by braces, due to the fact that your teeth tend to shift backwards which strains the TMJoint. If you do through ortho again I would recommend that you have TMJ X-rays to properly evaluate the position of your joints and work towards establishing harmony between teeth, muscles, nerves, and joints.
Not too many dentists understand this philosophy, I hope your orthodontist does. Whatever you do, do not undertake any treatment that plans on shifting your front teeth backwards. Your bite will most likely need to be "raised" and your front teeth will need some "freedom" for chewing. Sit down with your orthodontist and discuss these things carefully.
Editorial Staff