Neuromuscular Dentistry - Post OP questions:

[Guest guest]

Hi! It's been a long time since I last posted. I had my lower jaw

advanced 8mm on August 24th last year. That makes me about 7 1/2

months post-op, or so.

Starting at about 3 months post-op I developed pain in my right TMJ.

This pain has hindered how far I can open (about 2 1/2 fingers at

best, usually less), caused my right ear to fill with fluids

(decongestants help that), and caused my jaw to pull heavily to the

right when I do open.

A couple weeks ago, after mentioning it over and over to my

Orthodontist with no results (I don't think he's all that concerned

about it to be honest), I scheduled an appointment with my Dentist.

She's recently been certified in Neuromuscular Dentistry, and is

starting to specialize in TMJ problems.

What she found was that I have a disc that's out of place in my right

TMJ, it's what is causing all of the pain and other side effects.

Long story short, she did measurments, and made me a temporary

orthotic (a kind of bite guard) to wear overnight and as much during

the day as possible. This orthotic keeps my jaw in a more natural

position.

The good news is that the pain is gone as long as I wear the orthotic!

No more ear aches, and no more decongestants that make me crazy when

I take them. It's wonderful!

The bad news is that my molars do not touch in this new position. The

natural position she wants my jaw in, is much farther forward than it

was previously. It's just like it was when I first came out of

surgery, and I'm forced back into a no-chew diet until we figure out

which way to proceed.

She referred me to another Orthodontist that has been specialising in

TMJ problems for much longer than she has (my current one does not

specialise in TMJ at all) for an evaluation. I'm scheduled to have my

braces removed on April 11th, and it's likely I will need more work

after all. The alternative, if orthodontics isn't required, would be

to crown my molars to make them taller. I should know tomorrow what

the plan will be.

What I want to know is if anyone here had any experiences like this,

and what you had to do to fix it. I've worried myself into thinking

the worst. When I was first being evaluated for the surgery, I was

terribly worried that the OS was overcompensating with how far he

wanted to move my jaw forward. Now here I am with a jaw that wants to

be farther forward than it is, and it's causing pain to go back to

where the molars touch.

Another worry that I have is that my current Orthodontist won't

cooperate with the new one if I do need more orthodontic work to get

things right (and I have a really bad feeling he won't. He didn't

care about the pain, and at the beginning he made me sign a waiver

that I won't hold him responsible for more TMJ problems if they

occur). If that happens, it's another round of paying for braces. Ick.

So, anyone out there go through this? What fixed it? Orthodontics?

Crowns? More surgery?

Thanks!!

~Jen