Guest guest Posted August 10, 2001 Report Share Posted August 10, 2001 le, I know alot about TMJ because I have it (I don't know what the acronyms means). It has to do with (mis)alignment of the jaw and the tendency to grind your teeth at night. Another telltale sign is a cracking sound every time you open your mouth wide. The walls on either side of my mouth are chewed up. In times of stress, I can actually peel the skin away...eww, you're right! There is cartilage where the jaws meet. If you have headaches and your jaws hurt, these are some of the symptoms. Do this test. I hope I can describe this well, it's hard without actually showing it. Take your finger nail and put it in the space/crevasse between your two front teeth. Slide the fingernail halfway down so that the bottom teeth moves forward or back and is flush against the fingernail. Now move your bottom jaw side to side so that the lower half of the fingernail is also at the crevasse between the two front bottom teeth. This is supposed to be the true alignment of the jaw. Sometimes when I'm driving and I notice I'm clenching my teeth, I will do this exercise to force my teeth into alignment and it keeps me clenching unconsciously. Another exercise: Look in front of the mirror and close your lips where they would naturally fall. Notice the middle of each lip. Do they meet or are they off? The middle of your top lip should be aligned with the middle of the bottom lip. If not, move your lips so that the middles are aligned. Do you notice that your lips, therefore your face, looks much more balanced this way rather than the other more natural way? This is what my dentist made me do to show I had TMJ. My dentist has been trying to get me to get a mouthguard, but they're expensive, and unlike medical plans, some dental won't cover it at all. Mouth guards help by keeping the teeth in place. You put them on at night before you go to sleep. My concern now is that i sometimes wake up in the wee hours of the night several times with difficulty breathing. I know sometimes it's directly related to a dream I'm having (one night I dreamt there was a thick trail of ants crawling up my walls and sure enough I woke up gasping for air....) So with a mouth guard in place, I think it would keep the air coming into my mouth by keeping my mouth closed. I'm not a snorer and I've been snoring big time in the last few weeks, I think to compensate for my tracheal problems. So I'm a little nervous getting one, even though I need it. Talk to your dentist about this. It's expensive, though I can't remember how much. PS: and others: do you know why this happens? What do you do to help the ache? ===== When choosing the lesser of two evils, I always like the one I haven't tried. -- Mae West __________________________________________________ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 11, 2001 Report Share Posted August 11, 2001 --- " B. " hiacynth1@...> wrote: > le, > > I know alot about TMJ because I have it (I don't > know what the acronyms means). It stands for temporomandibular joint. According to the Merck Manual these are the two joints-one on each side of the face, just in front of the ears-where the temporal bone of the skull connects to the lower jaw (mandible). Those of us who have problems with this joint know exactly where it is, don't we? Hope you are having a great day! Love, Sharon ===== __________________________________________________ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 14, 2001 Report Share Posted August 14, 2001 > le, > > I know alot about TMJ because I have it (I don't > know what the acronyms means). It has to do with > (mis)alignment of the jaw and the tendency to > grind your teeth at night. Another telltale sign > is a cracking sound every time you open your > mouth wide. The walls on either side of my mouth > are chewed up. In times of stress, I can actually > peel the skin away...eww, you're right! Hi , sorry it took so long to reply, but I have been having a rough weekend. I tried the test, and it looks like my teeth are out of line. My headaches and saw jaw are driving me nuts!! I am going to the dentist later this month, so hopefully I can get something figured out. I have been taking alot of ibuprofen in the hope of helping the pain, but it makes me really sleepy. So the weekend was like one long sleep fest!! Not necessarily a bad thing! How are you doing? what have you been up to? I hope you had a good weekend. le Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 14, 2001 Report Share Posted August 14, 2001 > > le, > > > > I know alot about TMJ because I have it (I don't > > know what the acronyms means). > > It stands for temporomandibular joint. According to > the Merck Manual these are the two joints-one on each > side of the face, just in front of the ears-where the > temporal bone of the skull connects to the lower jaw > (mandible). Those of us who have problems with this > joint know exactly where it is, don't we? Hope you > are having a great day! Love, Sharon Hi Sharon, Thanks for giving me what TMJ stands for. I was asking alot of people and I was amazed, everyone knew what it was, but didn't know what the long name was. I am finding that the jaw pain is really bothering me, so I am going to go and bug my dentist in the hope he will help. But, you never know with docs. Hope you had a terrific weekend. le Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 15, 2001 Report Share Posted August 15, 2001 --- jasidan@... wrote: > > > > > > It stands for temporomandibular joint > Hi Sharon, > > Thanks for giving me what TMJ stands for. I was > asking alot of people > and I was amazed, everyone knew what it was, but > didn't know what the > long name was. I am finding that the jaw pain is > really bothering me, > so I am going to go and bug my dentist in the hope > he will help. But, > you never know with docs. Hope you had a terrific > weekend. > le > > Hi, I had physical therapy on my jaw for several months. The oral surgeon said that I needed surgery, but not a good candidate. One of the exercises that the therapist gave me to do at home was to tape a bunch of tongue depressors together and bite on it. I started with three or four (my jaw was in close-lock position), and built up to 12. You have to start very slowly, maybe four times a day but only for 20-30 seconds at a time. Add to that time each day, and as you get used to it, add more tongue depressors to your stack. When done, ice the jaw and try to keep it as relaxed as possible. Just a thought that you can try at home. Good luck, Sharon ===== __________________________________________________ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 15, 2001 Report Share Posted August 15, 2001 > > Hi, I had physical therapy on my jaw for several > months. The oral surgeon said that I needed surgery, > but not a good candidate. One of the exercises that > the therapist gave me to do at home was to tape a > bunch of tongue depressors together and bite on it. I > started with three or four (my jaw was in close-lock > position), and built up to 12. You have to start very > slowly, maybe four times a day but only for 20-30 > seconds at a time. Add to that time each day, and as > you get used to it, add more tongue depressors to your > stack. When done, ice the jaw and try to keep it as > relaxed as possible. Just a thought that you can try > at home. Good luck, Sharon > Sharon, is this to strengthen the jaw? I finally gave in last weekend and ibuprofened myself to the eyeballs, which helped for a while. I didn't realize this would be quite so painful and uncomfortable. oh the joys of rp! Have a great end of the week le Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 16, 2001 Report Share Posted August 16, 2001 --- jasidan@... wrote: > > > > Hi, I had physical therapy on my jaw for > several > > months. The oral surgeon said that I needed > surgery, > > but not a good candidate. One of the exercises > that > > the therapist gave me to do at home was to tape a > > bunch of tongue depressors together and bite on > it. I > > started with three or four (my jaw was in > close-lock > > position), and built up to 12. You have to start > very > > slowly, maybe four times a day but only for 20-30 > > seconds at a time. Add to that time each day, and > as > > you get used to it, add more tongue depressors to > your > > stack. When done, ice the jaw and try to keep it > as > > relaxed as possible. Just a thought that you can > try > > at home. Good luck, Sharon > > > Sharon, > > is this to strengthen the jaw? I finally gave in > last weekend > and ibuprofened myself to the eyeballs, which helped > for a while. > I didn't realize this would be quite so painful and > uncomfortable. > oh the joys of rp! > Have a great end of the week > le > > > In my case, it was to force the jaw to open wider. It was so locked that I could not get my dental work done. However, after being off the physical therapy (our insurance will only pay for so much) my jaw is almost as bad as it once was. I need to start biting my sticks again--FETCH! Sharon ===== __________________________________________________ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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