Tmj Making Me Nuts!

[Abukuchick]

For about....4 years now I have had the worst TMJ issues. I can mostly control it during the day even though I look pissed most of the time from my muscles in my jaw being so big, it makes me constantly scowl and frown. As soon as I fall asleep I lock my jaw SO tight that my teeth actually loosen. Does anyone else have this problem? It makes it very hard to sleep and I'm never rested since I wake up constantly because of the pain. I just don't know what to do anymore, my teeth hurt so bad all the time now, it's like I have a million cavities and they just ache. No doctors even seem to think this is a big problem but it's driving me NUTS!

[EagleEye]

Man, your doctors ought to take it seriously if it's loosening your teeth and causing you pain! That's crazy. First thing is to find a decent dentist who'll help you and work up a treatment plan. I've had some problems with TMJ syndrome although not as bad as you. Do you notice that you tense up your jaws and grind your teeth when you're stressed? One thing to helps me is to just control my stress levels as much as possible and to be aware when I'm tensing up. I like to move my jaw around and pop it if the tension feels like it's building up. Another thing is to not to chew gum or candy and eat soft foods when the TMJ is acting up. My dentist made me a night guard, which looks like a guard that a boxer wears during a match. It took a few days to get used to, but I could tell that it has helped. Obviously I wear it at night to keep me from grinding my teeth. My dentist also recommended wearing it during stressful activities like driving in heavy traffic. There are also types of bite plates you can get to help TMJ with this that protect both lower and upper teeth. A good dentist will pick out the right one for you if you need one.