Metal Mouth Message Board

Hello all:

I had my surgery 8/11. Over the past few months, I've started to feel my jaw click occasionally when I yawn, but neither my ortho nor my surgeon thought it was a big deal. However, last Saturday, 8 days ago, I felt a click and I've had debilitating headaches since then. They gradually get worse throughout the day until I go to bed, at which point I sleep them off. I am feeling a lot of pain at my temples and underneath my ears. I called my surgeon, who will see me on Tuesday, but I'm kind of annoyed because he blew me off when I first reported the clicking.

I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced anything like this, and if anyone has any idea what is going on. My surgeon did offer to phone in a script for vicodin, but I want to see him first.

Conine I hope meeting with your surgeon and seeing whats up with resolve your issues. It sounds like he really needs to take a look at whats going on... What kind of surgery did you have and with whom if you dont mind sharing with us.

I hope you feel better soon!

Saw surgeon yesterday. Almost instantly, he knew the problem. He started rubbing various muscles on my face and found several that were extremely tight. Evidently, a rough spot at work has awakened an old clenching habit, which doesn't agree with my new jaw. This is causing my cheek muscles to tighten - almost lock - and is causing extreme pain. He gave me some muscle relaxants, which gave me a moderate amount of relief. He's going to call me tomorrow to see where I'm at, and then we'll discuss the next step. He did say a referral back to my ortho is possible in order to make sure that the contact points on my new bite are correct. For now though, he has at least brought the pain down to a dull discomfort. He was in a rush to firmly state that this is NOT a post-op TMJ issue. He was firm in saying this was a muscle issue, not a joint issue.

BTW- my original procedure was mandibular osteotomy to correct overbite and midlines. Braces were on from 8/10 to 2/12. Surgery was 8/11. I had positioner for two weeks, and now have both bonded and removable hawley upper and lower retainers.