Has anyone cured their TMJ with orthodontics?

[plocon]

I developed an open bite few years ago (not too severe, a few mm away from normal), which caused me to only contact on my far far back molars. It's hard to chew, it feels annoying, it doesn't feel right at all! I was having severe facial and TMJ pain every single day of every second and still am so I tried to figure out what the hell I should do so...

2 MRI's on the TMJ joints later, nothing showed abnormalities according to the doctors.

So I figured maybe I need a drug that relaxes my muscles, I asked a few doctors for a drug called "klonopin" but a lot of them were too wussies give them out for obvious reasons but I finally found one that gave me the prescription and holy crap... It worked... ALL my symptoms went away. So I started taking it every single day living a normal life until I decided to stop taking it. The TMJ symptoms came back! What the hell I said to myself. I thought I was cured but I realized that the klonopin I was taking was only treating the symptoms but not the actual problem itself so I suspect that perhaps it has something to do with the way my muscles are interacting with my teeth.

The next plan is to get my bite fixed with orthodontics, and now I'm here wondering if anyone here cured their TMJ with orthodontics, especially with an open bite like mine.

[tmjd]

I am in my first week of Insignia custom made braces in order to correct all the bite interferences that contribute to TMJ pain. I have a very small open bite.

Talk to your ortho, take two or three different opinions. I spent a year and a half with a splint coming and going. Eventually when I got a second opinion, I visualized that the splint was only a paliative, and full orthodontic treatment was the best way to go in a less to more approach.

[Heartofdarkness]

Yes. I don't know how severe my problems were, and I didn't get a diagnose, but my jaw (joint) was constantly clicking, popping and locking. I had problems opening my mouth wide and later also when I was speaking, I had to open my jaw in a specific angle for it not to get locked (an angle of a few millimeters, it wasn't showing or noticeable). Constant pain and/or tiredness in the jaw. A few months into my orthodontic treatment it was gone and I have had no problems since then, I am now 6-7 months into treatment. I don't know if my ortho even noticed I had problems and I never got to say anything. But maybe she saw on my bite I had these problems. Before, my jaw was locked all the time I opened my mouth, now I can hardly do it even on purpose.

[Ploppy]

I'm wondering how many people had to have orthodontic work done again after a messed up job in the past, and how commonly it occurs. When did you know that it was bad and decided to go into treatment again?

[pcspinheiro]

Well, I'm in the opposite situation... I'm developing TMD while getting orthodontic treatment. I partly blame intercuspation elastics, that changed my bite and mandible rest position, but the real culprit was the extraction of a lower third molar. I'ts been getting worse by the day and I curse the day I walked into that office to fix the wear to my front lower teeth... I'm much worse now and the "treatment" has created so many more problems than my initial annoyances... So depressing it makes me want to cry...

[pteryxm]

I used to have pretty bad TMJ pre-braces but now I've barely noticed any cracks when I eat or yawn (I've also been very weary of it)
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[Ellay4402]

I'm getting very close to finally getting my braces on. Hearing that some of you have relief of TMJ pain/discomfort is very encouraging for me. I've never had any true pain, but I get this strange pressure with an urge to pop the left side of my jaw. It's especially bad if I've had to talk a lot or have chewed something tough. The need to pop it happens probably 10-12 times a day. My orthodontist confirmed that the ball of the left side is slipping from the socket, so when I'm pooping it, I'm actually popping it back into place. I pray that I get some relief with treatment. Or at least it doesn't get any worse.

[Nozzelnut]

My clenching and grinding shifted my bite significantly. My pre braces treatment of splints helped tame the TMJD symptoms, but to "cure it" I needed braces and jaw surgery. Not all orthodontists are trained to treat TMJD so search for those that have additional training.

[plocon]

Thank you all for your feedback, this was really helpful. I mean it's better to try something than nothing at all!

[rubyteeth]

well I'm hoping it works!

Yes I am doing the full ortho treatment to cure my TMJ problems...
And in answer to another question on the same thread, yes i had ortho and extractions as a kid to improve my jawline but now with a specialist ortho i can see what a huge mess of it they made!

I used splints- made by the new ortho to kinda 'prove' that the neck/back pain was coming from my jaw problem and they worked superbly. Pain dissapeared in 24hrs so I have taken the plunge and now have the full 'rack'

It's Hell. I'm not going to lie, i'm only 4 months in and there's nothing fun about it. My tmj pain is back too since i can't wear my splints and my jaw is still in limbo. But I can see where he's going with this and how my face and breathing is changing so I really believe it will help. It had better do! 2 yrs of metal and $10k is a lot to 'experiment' with

I have really noticed though that all those complaining of pain and sleep apnea and snoring problems have the same jawline as me.... so I'm starting to see the pattern.

Good luck

[lajp]

It’s crazy how connected and related the jaws teeth tongue and face and ears and nose are to each other. I mean I know they are but the relationship is a lot more influential than I thought. I have had TMJ dysfunction and went to a dentist that specializes in TMJ and bite dysfunctions. I noticed almost right away that with the braces and bite “pillows” (more like rocks), I cannot clench much and headaches have been reduced.

There is much more to braces and ortho than “cosmetics”. I have an underbite but I would have never guessed that because my bite doesn’t present as an obvious underbite. My parents kept telling me my teeth are fine, beautiful smile, great teeth, etc. and yes! But it’s crazy how much more there is. I have a tongue thrust and I didn’t even know until the ortho did the consult.

Long term, I believe the TMJ dysfunction and bite dysfunction will be treated well. BUT, headaches and jaw pain at certain points in treatment seem typical. Like I got rubber bands/elastics about 1.5wks ago and damn I got some headaches and pain but that’s because they are essentially pulling my teeth and jaw back. So it would make sense. I guess the typical “things get worse before they get better” applies here.

[Whythelongfacenay]

I've got mild TMJ issues along with moderate sleep apnea due to a very narrow upper jaw, which I'm about to treat with orthodontics. Specifically about to go through expander plate on upper jaw.

I’ve found a dentist who works very closely with a chiropractor who has recommended maxillary expansion in the form of semi-rapid palate expansion over the next 6-8 months, combined with cranio-facial chiropractic work, followed by another 18 months or so of invisible or self-litigating braces along with myofunctional training and more chiro work.

The theory is that along with making adjustments to jaw to correct for TMJ worsening in future, expanding the palate should make more room for my tongue to fit the top of the mouth – at the moment my upper jaw is vaulted and so narrow I have no space to fit anywhere near my whole tongue against the roof of my mouth. Because the tongue can’t fit there, it’s pushing back and restricting my airway at the level of the soft palate, which explains the sleep apnea/snoring. And so having more room for my tongue at the top of my mouth will reduce pressure on the soft palate, making it easier to breathe when sleeping.

Has anyone else had chiro as well as ortho for TMJ/narrow jaw issues?

[lajp]

I worked with a phys therapist for TMJ, unfortunately insurance doesn’t cover it but it was quite helpful.