Kathy's TMJ and braces story

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#1 Post by **BracedBelle** » Wed Jan 10, 2007 7:22 pm

Hi!

My name is Kathy. I just joined today, although I've lurked a bit in the past. I'm 26 years old, married, 2 cats, no kids, and I work full time at a massive global corporation. I'm not new to message boards, in fact I spend time on some music/band boards and even co-manage the official fan club for my favourite band.

My braces story...

I was born with a mismatched jaw problem and couldn't nurse. My mom was concerned but the doc said I'd grow out of the problem. As a preteen & teenager my teeth were crooked (impacted on the bottom right, overbite, crossbite, one canine completely in front of the neighbouring teeth (higher up on my gumline), top jaw much too small). Many of my molars didn't meet so I had to chew carefully. I also had severe TMJ problems and pain due to the mismatched jaws and teeth. We did a few consultation and my parents couldn't afford treatment.

Fast-forward to 10 years later... it was the jaw pain, not the crooked teeth, that led me to visit an oral surgeon for consultations. An MRI shows my joints are shaved down from grinding and on one side I have little left of the disc.

We discussed all sorts of surgeries but decided to start off with braces (he recommended an ortho), to see if matching up my teeth would stop the degeneration of the joints, and the associated pain.

The plan is Damon braces for an estimated 2.5 years. Hopefully my palate changes and expands and my bite can be improved. If this doesn't happen my ortho and surgeon suggest palate expansion surgery, which I'm hoping to avoid. Beyond braces, it's possible I'll need jaw surgery later on due to the amount of damage in my joints.

I got my top braces on in May... I was devastated more because of a lack of self confidence than anything else. Things went smoother than I expected, and after 3 months my incisor had completely been pulled down and in line with the other teeth. PROGRESS!! woohoo!

In October I got the bottoms on and I've been in agony ever since. I need wax every day/night, not just after adjustments, and I'm not sure why. I have so many open sores and my gums and cheeks bleed often. The crowding on the bottom has almost straighted out, which is great to see. After a couple more months all the key tooth problems will be straight and I'll just be waiting to see how my palate fills out.

Although I have wax problems, self confidence issues (especially at work), social consciousness which drives me insane... this week is my best yet so I'm thrilled about that. More molars meet now than ever before in my life! I can chew food on both sides, which I don't recall ever being able to do! Craziness!

So umm... hi everybody!

#2 Post by **BracedBelle** » Wed Jan 10, 2007 7:25 pm

oops, sorry for writing a novel. I have a tendency to ramble

#3 Post by **SmileOnTheRocks** » Wed Jan 10, 2007 9:43 pm

Hey Kathy! Welcome to the board, where do you hail from? Congrats on making the choice to improve your smile (and life, by the sounds of it!), I'm sure there are quite a few of us here who can relate to your pain.

Iâ€™m sorry to hear that your bottoms are still sore after so long, itâ€™s very strange! A good trick I learnt from this board is to rinse your mouth with salt water as often as possible â€“ this should toughen your mouth up a bit and make it more accepting of your new metal friends.

Try not to feel self-conscious about your braces, again, something I learnt from here is that no-one really cares if you wear braces or not (and if they do then thatâ€™s their bad luck!). My work didnâ€™t even notice I had braces for about three weeks (I work there full-time) and when they did, they asked a few questions and havenâ€™t mentioned them since. In fact, the only people who will probably mention your braces are people who have them, had them or want them

Best of luck with your treatment, feel free to post pictures of your progress!

#4 Post by **roadster1200xl** » Thu Jan 11, 2007 4:06 pm

oops, sorry for writing a novel. I have a tendency to ramble

Hey don't worry about it. It's interesting to read your story, along with everyone else's. I just got my braces (or the top wire anyway) put in last week so I'm finding it very informative to check out what everyone else is doing.

Here's hoping the pain goes away and the procedure is successful!

#5 Post by **BracedBelle** » Thu Jan 11, 2007 6:30 pm

Thanks for the responses everyone

I will definitely try the salt water treatment... I've never heard of that before.

#6 Post by **platinum** » Thu Jan 11, 2007 6:57 pm

Welcome!!!!
I like long stories as they give a clearer picture what's going on

I can chew food on both sides, which I don't recall ever being able to do! Craziness!

I can understand you. I had my right molars in very bad shape over a year, and i had to eat only on my left side. It was annoying. (this lead my bite to get worse and a need for the braces.)

#7 Post by **Sumendoza** » Fri Jan 12, 2007 12:40 pm

Welcome BracedBelle! I'm pretty new here myself... I just got my braces 2 days ago, and still is hard to eat and brushing my teeth takes me forever! Hang in there and it will be worth it at the end... that's what I keep telling to myself!

#8 Post by **BracedBelle** » Sat Jan 13, 2007 8:37 am

Thanks for the comments and words of encouragement!

Sometimes I start to think about future issues and get really panicky (I have an anxiety disorder so this is normal for me):

This morning's worries which really have me down are:
-I'm trying to get a promotion at work, but it will involve meeting clients. Will my company want me, with braces looking like a 16 year old, talking to clients? I'm already one of the youngest people in my office, and now I look even younger. Will clients take me seriously?
-I need wisdom teeth out this year. I'm scared. I have severe TMJ and hooked tooth roots - 3 dentists and surgeons have said they don't want to do the surgery due to higher nerve damage risks and longer recovery times, possible complications, etc. I finally have a great oral surgeon who isn't turning me away, but he admits it will be much more complex than average. Ugh!

I'm stressed. I think I'll go have a good run on the treadmill and clear my mind a bit.

#9 Post by **MsViola** » Sat Jan 13, 2007 2:52 pm

Congrats and good luck!

#10 Post by **hurdnerd** » Sat Jan 13, 2007 5:39 pm

Hi and Welcome! I'm new to this site as well and it was jaw pain, not crooked teeth that brought me to the orthodontist also. Keep thinking about the future!! This is an amazing site and we can get through this together!

#11 Post by **Tin Indian** » Sat Jan 13, 2007 6:56 pm

Your story was a good read Kathy. Welcome aboard and keep in touch!

#12 Post by **BracedBelle** » Sun Jan 14, 2007 2:38 pm

Hi and Welcome! I'm new to this site as well and it was jaw pain, not crooked teeth that brought me to the orthodontist also. Keep thinking about the future!! This is an amazing site and we can get through this together!

Thanks for the comment

How is your jaw pain doing?

And I just wanted to say that I love San Fran - I vacationed there in Sept '06 for a week and I want to go back!

#13 Post by **BracedBelle** » Tue Jan 16, 2007 6:21 pm

Since you know you worry about future issues ... how about getting a journal and recording any of these worries in writing. Then when you can, go back to these worries and write pros and cons for them. If they're still bothering you ... then post the question on here!

This is a good idea and I've started doing it over the past couple of days

I hope you're finding the warm salt water rinses are soothing your mouth and aiding with it's healing! Remember do these once a day ... they're cheap, easy and fast ... and the benefits are enormous!

This has been helping already!!! I'm using 1/2 the wax each day compared to the last few months!!

#14 Post by **BracedBelle** » Sat Jan 27, 2007 7:41 am

Can someone please move this thread to the Braces Stories section? I will use it on an ongoing basis with appt updates, photos, etc.

I'm going to consolidate some extra information from other forums & threads in here as well.

Pasted from other posts:

Diagnosis:
1) Mandibular retrognathia with secondary Class II malocclusion. Crossbite. Rotated maxillary dental midline. Dental crowding.
2) Four impacted third molar teeth
3) Bilateral TMJ anterior displacement of the disc with intermittent reduction and moderately advanced degenerative changes. The left is worse than the right.
4) Myofacial pain dysfunction.

We decided to undergo orthodontics first to see how bite correction impacts everything else. My first ortho said I needed a SARPE and some extractions (other than wisdom teeth). Then he retired before I worked up the nerve to get started, and his replacement, a young guy from Europe said he wanted to go with Damon braces and no extractions.

Soon I'll have my wisdom teeth out. Then I'll be back and forth between ortho and oral surgeon to see what they think what we should do next.

Photos before the braces went on:

#15 Post by **BracedBelle** » Sat Jan 27, 2007 8:04 am

Okay, here are some pics taken today (8 months since the upper braces went on, 3 months since the bottoms went on).

I'm happy to have my top right canine pulled down (this happened within 2 months) and the crowding on the bottom resolved. I am not at all happy with the way my front teeth now fit together even worse than before... my teeth in the front look more crooked than before, I have a space between top and bottom front teeth, I talk with a slight lisp, and I feel really awkward and uncomfortable.

Any thoughts, observations, questions?