TMJ And Headaches!

V.,

If your night guard was helping in the past, maybe something has changed with the guard??

Good luck! I hope you feel better soon!

I feel your pain! I have had jaw problems since I was a kid. I have had all sorts of treatments done to my mouth and jaw. I also clench and grind my teeth when I sleep. When I am under stress I have caught myself clenching during the day. Someone told me to place the tip of my tongue against the back of my bottom teeth to help relax my jaw when I find myself clenching during the day, it helps.

I have had jaw surgery and it really did not help with the TMJ. I still get the headaches, jaw fatique and a terrible earache on the right side I do not get relief from tylenol or motrin. What helps me is Active roll on muscle rub, Tiger balm also works well. - I rub it behind my ear, in front of my ear around the TMJ joint and on my neck. This is not a 100% cure, but it has been a life saver for me. I also find that an occasional massage helps. I try to keep my neck muscles flexible by stretching because when my neck is tight it increases my symptoms. I also use a tempurepedic neck pillow, which I did not like at first, but I am now used to and I think it helps a little bit because it keeps my neck in alignment. And don't forget the old stand by, moist heat.

Good Luck and I hope you find some relief

I have dealt with TMJ and clenching for the past 15 years. Here are the best things I have done to help me...
1. Use Motrin/Advil for pain (anti-inflammatory)
2. Be conscience of your clenching...even during the day. Train yourself to keep your teeth slightly open, barely touching.
3. Try really hard to not eat things that make you open your mouth too wide. If you do, smoosh it down (i.e. a hamburger) or cut it into very small pieces. Try not to open your mouth fully when you yawn as well.
4. Don't know if you are a back sleeper or not but train yourself to sleep ONLY on your back. It allows your jaw to fall naturally instead of off to the side or smashed into a pillow.
5. You can do light massage on the jaw muscle and/or use cold or hot compress.

I hope that helps!

Although I don't have TMJ, I do clench my teeth which causes the headaches. I trained myself to keep my jaw in a relaxed position, teeth apart and tongue in the resting position (tip on the hard palate behind your teeth). This helps but when I get stressed, the headaches come back. One great way to help with this is relaxation and self hypnosis. I actually saw a psychologist who specializes in this for a few sessions to undergo biofeedback training. Now I know how to relax the muscles causing the headaches. TMJ doesn't necessarily cause the headaches on their own. The other great resource is massage at least once a month to help with the other muscles in and around the head. Good luck.

I feel your pain. I've had TMJ issues since I was in elementary school. I've been told that children who have braces tend to be more prone to getting TMJ. Not sure how true it is but I had braces in 1st grade and had problems with TMJ probably starting around 5th/6th grade. I even went through a phase in high school where my jaw would lock shut every morning for between 30-60 minutes. I personally don't have a night guard although I do know I clench and grind sometimes. I had Invisalign a few years ago and my retainers seem to help with those issues. However, I do still clench and I know how horrible it is waking up with a headache.

While I haven’t done them in a long time, the oral surgeon I use to see had given me exercises to do to help strengthen the jaw muscles. He would have me place the tip of my tongue as far back in the roof of my mouth as I could and open and close my mouth. I forget how many times. It’s supposed to help properly strengthen your muscles so that your jaw opens and closes straightly. Mine use to veer down to one side when I’d open my mouth. That may be something to discuss with your dentist or orthodontist.

One thing that has really helped me is massage. And not just your regular massage of the neck and shoulders but I have a girl who actually massages the muscles in your mouth and around your face. It sounds weird but I love it! She puts on Medical gloves, you open your mouth and she goes to town! It’s a little weird at first but like I said I love it. I literally feel like my head is floating when she's done because she releases so much tension. I know you’re in Glendale but it might be worth a shot or at a minimum maybe she could recommend someone closer to you who can do the same thing. If you’d like her contact information, please send me a private message. Good luck!

Well it sounds like this dentist is good and knows a little about TMJ because he did give you a mouth guard which just might need to be adjusted in order to make everything feel good again but you might need to see an orthodontist. They are the real specialist in jaw issues. That's why all your other dentist didn't ever do anything for you....they didn't know what to do because they don't have schooling like orthodontist. So I would first go back to your dentist and see what he can do. If he can't fit the new problems then see an ortho.

Wow, you are getting some great advice, i never knew orthodontists were the ones to see for this. I have this same problem, and i've been thinking about going to see a chiropractor for the pain relief but just haven't sat down to flip open the phonebook and pick one.
To some extent i think it is stress, but when it goes on so long and you've ground your teeth down I think it's gone beyond stress and your body just doesn't remember another way to be.
I've tried asking other people about what they ahve done and one person who actually was on a liquid diet and some intensive dental something or other, said that her dr told her to stop pressing her tongue to the roof of her mouth. I notice that that is what i do constantly, either my tongue is glued up there or my mouth is handing open. It isn't that i am actively grinding during the day, but that pressure from the tongue and trying to hold my mouth a certain way hurts.
What ever you do tell the dentist or ortho in advanced taht you do not want your teeth ground down, I was in shock when i realized that to make my mouthguard thing that fits over my bottom two middle teeth fit, my dentist ground down my top teeth, So they wouldn't touch, great, but now i can't bite into a sandwich unless i do it sideways.. Looks terrible too.
Good luck, I would love to hear more about what they do for you.

Are you waking up with the headaches or are they happening during the day? You could be clenching during the day which is causing the headaches. When I was having this issue, my dentist recommended I wear the night guard during the day as much as I could tolerate it. He also recommended to 'check' my jaw position during the day to see if I was unconsciously clenching. My night guard is several years old and goes over my upper teeth.
(I did not real through the other posts, so if this is repeat advice I am sorry).
Good luck!

You never realize how much you use a certain body part until you hurt it. Those little tendons that hold your jaw together are used for just about everything. I would suggest that you get some kind of relaxant. I got Dopa Bean from the health food store. It takes the edge off the stress but does not put me in la la land. I would get an ice pack and put it over the jaw muscles for about 5 minutes and then get a heating pad and put it in the same place for about 5 minutes and do this for 10 - 20 minutes total each side. I did it for two or three times a day and after a couple of days I stopped getting headaches and my jaw stopped clicking. I hope this helps!

Not sure I have any answers for you, but I do know that it really makes a difference in who you see to diagnose and treat your TMJ. My father had been in practice as an oral surgeon 30++ years and was a big time TMJ specialist, but has left the office practice in June this year. :-( You can call his practice and see what they say or where they would recommend/refer you for treatment if you get to that point... http://www.oralsurgeryarizona.com/

Good luck!

Hi V.,

I have both problems and have a hard night guard that fits over all my lower teeth instead of just the back ones. That seems to have saved my teeth anyhow.

I was told for the TMJ that they would have to break my jaw and align it in order to fix it and that it would be at least 6 weeks of my mouth wired shut and pain from the healing would last for several months. Not wanting to go through that, I just deal with the popping of the jaw and the pain in it. I can't chew gum or anything like that as it starts hurting badly.

D. P.

I never had this problem until I took a diet drug with the side effect of jaw clenching. I've never really stopped doing it during times of stress even though I stopped taking the pills as soon as I found out and it's been more than a year.

I have learned that I need to manage my stress. I do that through journaling and praying. I've also gone on a clense type diet. It works very well from time to time to do mostly lean meat, steamed with fresh or frozen veggies and lay off of most everything else for a few weeks. When I do that and watch my stress levels, my headaches go away completely.

Sorry I don't have a fast suggestion that works instantly. :)