tmj and surgery

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#1 Post by **trw2** » Sun Feb 24, 2008 9:16 am

Hello i am new to this site and am looking for opinions about getting surgery for tmj.Iwould like to hear from other to see if they regret having surgery.I was told that I should have upper jaw surgery then braces . I dont mind the idea of braces but really dont want the surgery or the expander. the expander looks way too hard to deal with thank for any input

#2 Post by **phil** » Sun Feb 24, 2008 6:25 pm

I'm no expert, but everything I've read says that orthognathic surgery for TMJ should be a last resort, after all other avenues have been exhausted. Often, it does nothing to eliminate symptoms.

Does your orthodontist specialize in TMJ? If not, you might want to get a second opinion.

Again, I'm not an expert, just a layperson, and am relaying what I've read in general. Best of luck to you!

#3 Post by **iBorg** » Sun Feb 24, 2008 9:24 pm

I'm awaiting surgery and I'm not sure surgery will eliminate my TMJ problems. I do know when talking to other orthos offices, two others did not want to even see me when I mentioned TMJ issues. My orhto toldme that treatment would not eliminate the problem but rather reduce the pain from an 8 or 9 to a 3 or 4. In moving my teeth so that my overbite is closer to a "natural" position I'm not grinding as much and therefore my TMJ is not as aggravated as it is. Due to previous ortho work, my teeth were close enough I'd sub consciously strain to have correct teeth alignment, which strained my TMJ. Of course without surgery I now have about a 5mm overbite and a class two molar relationship but my TMJ has gone from out of control to easily controlled.

Mike

#4 Post by **Emaciated** » Tue Feb 26, 2008 11:17 pm

For what its worth, I had upper, lower, genio in Nov. and my surgery actually caused TMJ where it wasn't before. Still happy more than anything with the results and don't regret a thing, but I have a pretty serious case of TMJ now which was never a problem before.

#5 Post by **boss5430man** » Wed Feb 27, 2008 11:48 am

I've had tmj for years and have never taken the surgery plunge. I've heard surgical success stories, and it is for some people, but it just scares me because I've heard a lot of bad stories about tmj surgery.

To ease my pain, I use a product called icecaddy that helps me to put heat on my face absolutely hands free. It comes with 2 packs for your convenience to warm up yourself. The product is great because I can go about my day and ease my tmj pain at the same time. It really helps me calm down, relax, and go about my day in a normal fashion.

again, surgery is definitely for some people (just not for me!)

hope this helps...

#6 Post by **trw2** » Thu Feb 28, 2008 11:55 am

I just had an ortho consult recently that said she could possibly do treatment without surgery. She said it was not ideal for me but would more than likely relieve the tmj trouble.It would be nice if they could give definate answers. thanks for the replys trw2

#7 Post by **iBorg** » Thu Feb 28, 2008 12:21 pm

When we first started moving things to get me ready for surgery, my ortho asked point blank after two months of elastics how my TMJ was. I told her it had been wonderful, very minor pain. her reply was that was exactly what she wanted to hear. I'm sure if I'd told her that I had to go back on pain meds, she would have refused anymore preparation for surgery.

Of course, before I got to this point I'd done splints and massage.

Mike

#8 Post by **boss5430man** » Thu Feb 28, 2008 7:07 pm

haha, that's probably a good thing to do!

like i said before, i really like home remedies, they seem to work for me and most people i talk to and are definitely less invasive than surgery.

what other home remedies do people use to help ease their pain? i think if we can all talk about it on a board, it will really help others out.

#9 Post by **iBorg** » Thu Feb 28, 2008 7:54 pm

The best "home remday"I've found was a microwaveable heating pad from a large box store. With my reduced TMJ issues, all I need to do is heat it and let it do its magic for twenty minutes and I'm good to go.

Mike

#10 Post by **kaycee** » Fri Feb 29, 2008 2:15 pm

I was treated for TMJ about 20 years ago, mostly with a series of exercises designed to relax the jaw muscles. The only one I remember, and I still do it from time to time, is to open your mouth as slow as possible as wide as you can and then close in the same manner. I think I intially did this in front of a mirror to make sure my midlines stayed in alignment. There were other exercises, biofeedback, and some kind of electro-magnetic therapy where I was hooked up to electrodes. I'm sure things have changed since then!

#11 Post by **Jenna28** » Sat Mar 01, 2008 1:02 pm

I had bi-lateral tmj arthroplasy several years ago after being treated unsuccessfully by a dozen doctors over the preceeding five years. For me, the surgery was a lifesaver! I would say that 95% of my symptoms disappeared within 6 weeks, and it stayed that way for probably three years. I have been experiencing somewhat of a relapse, but that has been attributed (by multiple docs) to my huge overbite. I just got braces this week to prepare for orthognathic surgery, and hopefully, once my bite is better, my TMJ issues will once again vanish.

#12 Post by **boss5430man** » Sun Mar 02, 2008 11:58 am

I feel that applying heating pads to my face is also my best home remedy for easing tmj pain. I've found a few products through the years that will actually hold the pads in place right on my jaw, which is a real nice feature. My favorite is called the Face Caddy. It's a great piece of material that really holds the pads firmly (it even comes with 2 pads!).

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tmj and surgery

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