extreme TMJ issues

[orangeena]

I had some minor tmj issues in the past before starting invisalign. A little popping in the morning, but that's about it. My doc and I discussed it and, while they didn't guarantee that invisalign would help, they though it would.

welllll, I am on my third set of aligners now (about 5 weeks in). my bite is very, very off. I could tell from the first set, but I figured that is normal from the moving around.

Then, two weeks ago, I woke up and my jaw was locked. It is still locked and has not improved since. The dentist told me it appears that my jaw was so off sync that the cartilidge slipped. She gave me some muscle relaxers and suggested heat therapy and she's just hoping that it will work itself out.

I have not been able to open my mouth more than half an inch for two weeks now. I could just cry. The worst of it is that its at the point where no one will tell me if it ever will get better...and maybe it will even get worse. They also told me that for some people surgery is an option that comes up, but even that does not help everyone.

I went back to my regular dentist and he recommended that I stop the invisalign treatment on the top to get a mouth guard....and then "cross my fingers" that my jaw joint heals itself. After that, if it does heal, maybe going back to invisalin or maybe not. frankly, I'll probably be to scared to start up again, tho.

My primary concern is that I will never be able to function normally again.
Has anyone had any severe issues like this with TMJ?

Secondary, is the fact that I already paid for the whole invisalign treatment (my dentist had a significant discount for prepay). My health comes first, but I don't want to be out over 4 grand for a product that not only can I not use, but it also put me in this horrible, horrible state. Has anyone been faced with the fact that they may not be able to continue treatment?

any advice will be appreciated. I am really torn up about this. Everytime some one asks me how my jaw is doing I nearly start crying.

[Joanna88]

Hi! I don't know if you're going to read this since you posted awhile ago, but I Just wanted to help you. I also have TMJ, I woke up one morning and my jaw was locked shut. I have been wearing a mouthpiece to adjust my bite which has really helped and now I am getting invisalign to make this bite permanent. So you only need to get a night guard if you grind or clench your teeth at night. If you're bite is not aligned properly, then you may need to get a splint to adjust it, and then go back to the Invisalign (with rubberbands to change your bite). The splint completely fixed me, and recently I have been having problems with the other side and I'm trying to find ways to deal with it. ALot of mine is muscular, so I get massage therapy every week which really helps, and I ice my neck and jaw before bed which really helps. Feel free to message me if you have any more questions!