Comment from: Audrey, 45-54 Female (Patient)Published: August 19
I have suffered from problems with my TMJ since I was a child. When I was 10 years old, my mother used to complain of me "clicking my teeth" on a spoon when I ate. The trouble is, my teeth never came near the spoon. The sound she heard came from my jaw popping. My jaw now dislocates constantly. I can't eat pizza or french bread, or even sing, without it locking. I wake up several times each night having to relocate my jaw. There is no pain just a jaw that can't seem to function normally. Brux guards do nothing. In fact, the only thing that seems to keep my jaw from popping and sticking is applying pressure to the left TMJ. I have to sleep these days with a hard pillow pressing against the joint, or it pops out constantly. It's clear that something is keeping my jaw from aligning properly, but no one seems to be able to help me fix it.
I never clench or grind my teeth and I am constantly doing it now. The side of my face in front of my ear feels swollen, as does that side of my neck and the ear itself. My neck and shoulders ache, and I am constantly swallowing saliva. The back of my neck hurts. My ear rings and kind of feels numb at times. The predominant symptom I have is the neck pain. Even the bone in back of my last tooth feels swollen.
I have every symptom. Some more than others. About two years ago my jaw suddenly "locked" and I didn't know why. It would only happen a few times a month. Then it went away for like 6 months. A year ago my jaw locked again, but this time it was like that constantly. It wouldn't open normally at all and I couldn't fit anything big in there at all. I could only open my jaw about one and a half fingers wide (and my fingers are thin). I would have popping sounds and clicking. There were times where I would grind my teeth while asleep. I had and still have ringing in the ear, and fullness of the ear. I get dizzy ALOT and it's horrible. I constantly have headaches and my jaw hurts immensely when I try and open it wide, or when I chew hard foods. I get even worse headaches when I attempt to yawn (I say attempt because I can never open my mouth fully and it hurts so much since my jaw is forcing itself to open wide when yawning). The worst symptoms for me are the headaches and the dizziness. I found out that I had TMJ about 5 months ago. I've been doing jaw exercises and I think my jaw is getting a bit better but it hasn't improved that much.
I have had joint pain and severe popping and cracking in my right jaw for 20 years. I am now 35. I have tried all the recommended treatments and have had very little success (braces, night guards etc.). I experience headaches, ear fullness and pain, facial pain in front of my ear, extreme pain when opening my mouth wide to yawn or laugh or eat followed by cracking (that can be heard up to 5 feet away) and dislocation.
Comment from: tracemaster82 , FemalePublished: September 03
I am 25 and have been dealing with TMJ for a while. I had braces in the past. I have been experiencing pain on my right side. It seems my bite is uneven on this side. Now I am looking to treat it and have been told by my dentist that he could file my teeth down. I also went to another woman that specializes in TMJ and she said I should get a splint. I'm still debating which action to take…
Comment from: Tarmstro, 35-44 Male (Patient)Published: September 03
The symptoms I experience with my TMJ are: severe headaches (thought to be migraines), neck pain (reduced range of motion), ringing and painful ears, and a sore jaw.
Comment from: Jean , 75 or over Female (Patient)Published: August 12
I have had TMJ for many years and it was very painful to go to the dentist because I could not keep my mouth open that long or it would be hard to close my mouth. I also had popping and crunching when I would open and close my mouth. That has gone away, and I can open my mouth wide now, but when I bite down, the left side does not touch but the right side touches and sort of feels like when you are having an imprint of a tooth made, soft and squishy.
Published: July 16
I just recently began experiencing pain in my jaw. A friend of mine said I should look up TMJ. The symptoms I have experienced are pain of the jaw when chewing food or when opening my mouth to a point, headaches just above my jaw, and swelling along my upper jaw line. I have found that taking pain relievers (usually just headache medicine) and keeping ice in my mouth helps reduce the pain and swelling.
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Suggested Reading on Temporomandibular Joint Disorder (TMJ) by Our Doctors
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I have suffered from problems with my TMJ since I was a child. When I was 10 years old, my mother used to complain of me "clicking my teeth" on a spoon when I ate. The trouble is, my teeth never came near the spoon. The sound she heard came from my jaw popping. My jaw now dislocates constantly. I can't eat pizza or french bread, or even sing, without it locking. I wake up several times each night having to relocate my jaw. There is no pain just a jaw that can't seem to function normally. Brux guards do nothing. In fact, the only thing that seems to keep my jaw from popping and sticking is applying pressure to the left TMJ. I have to sleep these days with a hard pillow pressing against the joint, or it pops out constantly. It's clear that something is keeping my jaw from aligning properly, but no one seems to be able to help me fix it.
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