Guest guest Posted July 17, 2004 Report Share Posted July 17, 2004 Has anyone decided to get braces and have surgery because of jaw problems (TMJ), an overbite and crowding? I have TMJ and clench my teeth and have constant neck and shoulder pain (my biggest complaint), obstructed airway, muffled hearing, mouth breathing. I have had consultations with two orthos (both who say I will also need jaw surgery), one says he can get rid of my symptoms and one says that he probably can't. Of course, I want to go with the one who says he can (his cost is $2000 more!) but after seeing the one who says he can't I am a little leary to believe that the first one can. When he looked at my x-rays he said that my jaw joint is wearing away. One of my friends who is a hygenist says that he wouldn't be able to tell that from an x-ray, is she right? Has anyone had similar symptoms (TMJ) and had them relieved with ortho treatment and surgery? Is this realistic? I know everyone says go with you gut when deciding who to choose but I really have no feeling. I would appreciate all feedback! Thanks!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 17, 2004 Report Share Posted July 17, 2004 Hi, I had braces and surgery because of TMD problems. Yes, you can see the condition of the condyles on an xray, but not the type that the dental hygienist typically makes - I had a panoramic xray done (where the xray machine circles your head while you bite on this lovely stabilizing stick), and my surgeon pointed out how my left condyle was worn. Where it should be rounded (that's the part that fits into the upper jaw joint), it was worn down, not a lot, but worn all the same. That was because of TMD problems. My ortho is a TMD specialist, and handles the toughest cases in our area, but I think he realizes that he can't help everyone, although he tries and succeeds where others don't. He wanted to try to avoid surgery and treat with other means, but he told me my own case was " severe " , and that he had to leave surgery open as a last option. I had popping/clicking/locking of my jaws, but never enough to realize there was any kind of problem. Finally I started having pain on opening to eat, and that's when my dentist referred me. Almost 2 years later and after upper/lower/genio surgery, I have a much better bite (although I had compensated well, not really knowing I had a problem other than from external appearance), TMD symptoms are relieved, I'm no longer a mouth breather and can close my lips without effort, and I am working my way out of the neck & shoulder pain. On that point, I started seeing a cranial-sac massage therapist as part of my ortho treatment, and continued seeing her, I've been with her for over 3 years now. In the last year, she stopped doing just the cranial-sac and does a deep therapeutic massage. When I first saw her, she said that I'd been " holding myself carefully for 46 years " . It takes a long time to loosen up the hold the muscles have on your body. I also asked her what I could do to help, and she suggested yoga practice, which I've been doing now (combination of weekly class and daily practice at home) for 3 years as well. Last fall I also started learning meditation - the reason I mention this is that it is a practice that teaches you how to become more aware of the tension in your body and learn to release it yourself. My massage therapist said it can take a month for every year you've had the problem, so as a lifelong skeletal problem (the jaws), it would take about 4 years to resolve, including the treatment time in orthodontics and surgery. We are making steady progress. I'd highly recommend cranial-sac massage, therapeutic massage, yoga and meditation practices as they can only help the process of getting your neck & shoulder muscles back to normal. The surgery will help, but I think it will take longer to undo the habits those muscles have gotten into. On the topic of whether or not the surgeon can guarantee that the surgery will alleviate your TMD symptoms, nobody can give you a guarantee. They can make things better or worse (and in rare cases, really, really worse). But most of us with these kinds of problems are willing to accept the risk for a better quality of life, and end up with a positive result. It's a tough decision, but I would not base it on one surgeon's opinion versus another - I'd ask them for patient references, both good and not-so-good, and judge for yourself. Both my surgeon & ortho offered references, but I didn't end up doing that as I was very comfortable with going ahead. That's a loooong answer to your question, but I hope that it helps, > Has anyone decided to get braces and have surgery because of jaw > problems (TMJ), an overbite and crowding? I have TMJ and clench my > teeth and have constant neck and shoulder pain (my biggest > complaint), obstructed airway, muffled hearing, mouth breathing. I > have had consultations with two orthos (both who say I will also need > jaw surgery), one says he can get rid of my symptoms and one says > that he probably can't. Of course, I want to go with the one who says > he can (his cost is $2000 more!) but after seeing the one who says he > can't I am a little leary to believe that the first one can. When he > looked at my x-rays he said that my jaw joint is wearing away. One of > my friends who is a hygenist says that he wouldn't be able to tell > that from an x-ray, is she right? Has anyone had similar symptoms > (TMJ) and had them relieved with ortho treatment and surgery? Is this > realistic? I know everyone says go with you gut when deciding who to > choose but I really have no feeling. I would appreciate all feedback! > > Thanks!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 19, 2004 Report Share Posted July 19, 2004 Just to add to 's response: My left TMJ is quite arthritic. In a panoramic x-ray, you can see that the bones are shaped differently on that side than they are on the right side, but the truest look at how the bones are shaped would only be accomplished via an MRI scan. I had upper and lower over a year ago. My joints have continued to deteriorate, but I do not regret having had the surgery. If anything, at least future procedures will have a better chance at working now that my bite has been corrected. > > Has anyone decided to get braces and have surgery because of jaw > > problems (TMJ), an overbite and crowding? I have TMJ and clench my > > teeth and have constant neck and shoulder pain (my biggest > > complaint), obstructed airway, muffled hearing, mouth breathing. I > > have had consultations with two orthos (both who say I will also > need > > jaw surgery), one says he can get rid of my symptoms and one says > > that he probably can't. Of course, I want to go with the one who > says > > he can (his cost is $2000 more!) but after seeing the one who says > he > > can't I am a little leary to believe that the first one can. When > he > > looked at my x-rays he said that my jaw joint is wearing away. One > of > > my friends who is a hygenist says that he wouldn't be able to tell > > that from an x-ray, is she right? Has anyone had similar symptoms > > (TMJ) and had them relieved with ortho treatment and surgery? Is > this > > realistic? I know everyone says go with you gut when deciding who > to > > choose but I really have no feeling. I would appreciate all > feedback! > > > > Thanks!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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