I am finding myself in a hard set of times right now. Trying not to clench my teeth together is proving to be very difficult. I find myself doing it at stressful or intense times and it requires all my concentration just to stop doing it. Just holding my jaw in a neutral position is tiring, let alone being constantly aware of everything else that is going on externally and requires attention.
My best advise, I need to follow this advise myself, is to remain calm. Breathe, and relax. Stressors are found everywhere and are often hidden in the mundane, so be ever vigilant! If you find yourself clenching or grinding while concentrating hard, put your tongue between your teeth. Only by being constantly aware of jaw positioning can you begin to heal and feel better!
Hoping this finds you in better jaw health,
Sara
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Monday, February 18, 2013
My story
My name is Sara and I suffer from TMD. TMD is the acronym for TemporoMandibular Disorder. Most people who are new to the TMD scene or are unfamiliar with the disorder typically call it TMJ.
TMD and TMJ essentially mean the same thing to the uneducated. When people suffer from pain in the face, jaw, and head they generally say they have TMJ. The fact is everyone has TMJ, two in fact. The TMJ is the TemporoMandibular Joint. It is where your mandible connects to your skull just in front of the ears. TMD is generally described as pain while chewing, popping and cracking of the jaw joint, pain in the facial muscles and headaches. There are several other symptoms but most TMD sufferers have those.
I have been living with TMD for about 8 years. It first started with going to an orthodontist to see if correcting my tooth alignment would solve my jaw popping issues. The orthodontist quickly stated he would not be willing to correct my teeth until my jaw issues were resolved and referred me to prosthodontist and craniofacial pain specialist in my area to assess my jaw problems and prescribe treatment to correct it.
My doctor advised me I had TMD and by using x-rays and Joint Vibration Analysis (JVA) decided splints and medications would be the right place to start.
Years went by, I was driving an hour to get to the doctors office to then drive an hour back to go to work and have no deducible change in my condition. I eventually stopped going to his office. The last time I was there he advised me to seek a chiropractor for my headaches and that was that. I did end up seeing a chiropractor and he was able to help with the migraines I had been suffering for years but my jaw problems persisted.
I eventually had my wisdom teeth removed and with that extraction my teeth started to move. Soon my splints, which had been sitting in my bathroom cabinet for a few years, stopped fitting correctly. The straw that broke the camels back happened just recently. One day I found myself in a lot of facial pain. For what I thought was no explainable reason I knew my jaw was really bad again. Come to find out it was because I went on a 1 week candy eating spree and chewy candies are the devil for TMD sufferers. I ended up calling the specialist to see if they still had my file in the office, which they did not, and see what my treatment plan had been. Since they did not have my file, I made my own plan.
My plan for jaw health is as follows:
1. NO MORE CLENCHING! I am a terrible clencher and grinder. I have had bruxism since I was a child and my original dentist told my parents something would need to be done; nothing ever was.
2. FOCUS ON KEEPING MY JAW AT REST: Every second of every day I have to remind myself to keep my teeth almost touching with my bottom teeth slightly back from dead even with my front teeth. This may seem easy if you do not have TMD and Bruxism, but it is not!
3. NO MORE CHEWY THINGS! This is SO hard for me! I love fruity candy and most fruity candies are super chewy.
4. EVEN THOUGH IT DOES NOT FIT 100%, WEAR MY SPECIALLY FITTED NIGHT GUARD! Something is better than nothing, and maybe if I continue to push it on a little bit more every night my teeth will move back to where they were and it will fit again.
5. ONCE MY CHILDREN ARE IN SCHOOL OR OF AN AGE WHERE THEY CAN BE WATCHED BY OTHER PEOPLE, GO BACK TO THE SPECIALIST. He is the only one in the state who can do what needs to be done, so I need to have the time and resources available to get this issue FIXED, not a bandaid.
I will be updating this blog periodically with how things are going, changes in my jaw health, and tip/tricks if I come across any.
Wishing you good jaw health,
Sara
TMD and TMJ essentially mean the same thing to the uneducated. When people suffer from pain in the face, jaw, and head they generally say they have TMJ. The fact is everyone has TMJ, two in fact. The TMJ is the TemporoMandibular Joint. It is where your mandible connects to your skull just in front of the ears. TMD is generally described as pain while chewing, popping and cracking of the jaw joint, pain in the facial muscles and headaches. There are several other symptoms but most TMD sufferers have those.
I have been living with TMD for about 8 years. It first started with going to an orthodontist to see if correcting my tooth alignment would solve my jaw popping issues. The orthodontist quickly stated he would not be willing to correct my teeth until my jaw issues were resolved and referred me to prosthodontist and craniofacial pain specialist in my area to assess my jaw problems and prescribe treatment to correct it.
My doctor advised me I had TMD and by using x-rays and Joint Vibration Analysis (JVA) decided splints and medications would be the right place to start.
Years went by, I was driving an hour to get to the doctors office to then drive an hour back to go to work and have no deducible change in my condition. I eventually stopped going to his office. The last time I was there he advised me to seek a chiropractor for my headaches and that was that. I did end up seeing a chiropractor and he was able to help with the migraines I had been suffering for years but my jaw problems persisted.
I eventually had my wisdom teeth removed and with that extraction my teeth started to move. Soon my splints, which had been sitting in my bathroom cabinet for a few years, stopped fitting correctly. The straw that broke the camels back happened just recently. One day I found myself in a lot of facial pain. For what I thought was no explainable reason I knew my jaw was really bad again. Come to find out it was because I went on a 1 week candy eating spree and chewy candies are the devil for TMD sufferers. I ended up calling the specialist to see if they still had my file in the office, which they did not, and see what my treatment plan had been. Since they did not have my file, I made my own plan.
My plan for jaw health is as follows:
1. NO MORE CLENCHING! I am a terrible clencher and grinder. I have had bruxism since I was a child and my original dentist told my parents something would need to be done; nothing ever was.
2. FOCUS ON KEEPING MY JAW AT REST: Every second of every day I have to remind myself to keep my teeth almost touching with my bottom teeth slightly back from dead even with my front teeth. This may seem easy if you do not have TMD and Bruxism, but it is not!
3. NO MORE CHEWY THINGS! This is SO hard for me! I love fruity candy and most fruity candies are super chewy.
4. EVEN THOUGH IT DOES NOT FIT 100%, WEAR MY SPECIALLY FITTED NIGHT GUARD! Something is better than nothing, and maybe if I continue to push it on a little bit more every night my teeth will move back to where they were and it will fit again.
5. ONCE MY CHILDREN ARE IN SCHOOL OR OF AN AGE WHERE THEY CAN BE WATCHED BY OTHER PEOPLE, GO BACK TO THE SPECIALIST. He is the only one in the state who can do what needs to be done, so I need to have the time and resources available to get this issue FIXED, not a bandaid.
I will be updating this blog periodically with how things are going, changes in my jaw health, and tip/tricks if I come across any.
Wishing you good jaw health,
Sara
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)