Teeth Bleaching Planet

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Treatment

The symptoms of TMJ can sometimes resolve themselves with the removal of aggravating conditions, such as chewing gum, excess stress. The TMJ Association claims there are more than 50 treatments possible treatments for TMJ. They caution, “none of the surgical treatments for severe cases have been proven effective in long-term controlled clinical trials.”

One of the least invasive treatments I tried myself.

My parents are both health care professionals, and so I knew from my early teens that I had TMJ by their diagnosis. It never caused much pain or required more formal medical attention until I was in my third year of college. I had full-time classes, a full-time job, a busy workout schedule, and a full-time social life. Always a stickler for dental health, I would chew sugarless gum if I didn’t have time to brush my teeth after a meal. I ate several times throughout the day, being extremely active and having such a high metabolism. My days were so busy that I almost never had time to brush my teeth, and I would find myself chewing gum for over 8 eights hours every day (thank goodness for buying in bulk, because I could have financed my retirement for what I invested in gum!)

The pain crept up on me slowly, until it would get to the point where I could barely open my mouth wide enough for a spoon without shooting pains through my jaw. I couldn’t chew anything more firm than mashed potatoes without stabbing pains. I felt like I had an ear infection for several weeks - a deep, sharp, constant, aching pain. This actually turned out to be referred pain from my TMJ.

I was referred to an orthodontist, who fitted me with a biteguard in a short, in-office procedure. The biteguard was a clear plastic molding of my upper teeth, so thin you could barely feel it and so clear you could barely see it. It was only for use at night. The orthodontist’s feeling was that because of my high level of stress, I was probably grinding my teeth at night. I objected. Not only am I highly conscious of my psychological state (and I felt fine) I was also convinced that I did not grind my teeth in my sleep. Without leaving room for argument, he replied, “Since you do it in your sleep, you wouldn’t know if you did it or not.”

On his recommendation, I used the biteguard at night and stopped chewing gum during the day, and within weeks, the pain had ebbed to nothing. Whether or not my improvement was due to the biteguard or the gum-chewing habit I had eliminated remains unclear. The TJM Association claims that one fourth of the American population grinds their teeth at night, and quite simply, “Not all people with TMJ grind their teeth, and not all habitual tooth-grinders have TMJ,” leaving the association between bruxism and TMJ unclear.

My TMJ is, however, a less severe case. My jaw will only click or scrape under extreme movement, even though it does list to one side when relaxed and zig-zags when I open wide.

My intention with this article is to make known the condition, its various levels of severity, and its symptoms. Knowing you have TMJ, no matter how mild or how severe, can make daily management easier, eliminating needless pain. If you suspect you may have TMJ, see your family doctor.

Tags: aggravating conditions | grinds teeth | gum-chewing habit