Braces & jaw problems

[shopaholic]

I had braces back when I was in middle school/high school. I had them for several years and got them taken off going into senior year of h.s. I have an extremely small jaw so I had to have several baby and adult teeth pulled as well as the extraction of all 4 impacted wisdom teeth. Anyways, fast forward to now (8-9 years later). I've been having a lot of jaw problems. For example, if I go to bite down into a sub sandwich my jaw on the left side will pop out and it is pretty painful. This doesn't happen all the time but enough for it to be annoying.

I remember when I still had my braces on I was having this problem and my dentist (same dentist did the braces) had me do these tension exercises where I would push my jaw to the left while pushing my hand against it (hope I explained that OK).

I am wondering if anyone else experiences this at all? I am assuming that braces is what caused and is causing these problems. Is there anything that I can do? I know I can mention it when I go to the dentist again (I have since changed dentists so this is a new one). I would also assume that if anything was wrong they would be able to see it when I have my panoramic x-ray done.

[allyray231]

yup -you have TMJ. Is is very common in people who had braces or had a lot of teeth removed in youth.

best things to do is watch what you eat, do the exercises and warm compresses

[shopaholic]

what is TMJ??

I've also noticed that my jaw pops out a lot when I yawn.

[KK812]

I have a lot of problems with my TMJ (basically, the joint in your jaw that moves when you open and close your mouth) for about 3 years, and it's resulted in very bad pain which leads to headaches and clenching my teeth at night, which leads to more pain...

I actually finally talked to my dentist about it yesterday because she noticed on my xray that my teeth were worn down from my clenching. :eek: If it is really causing you problems you can get a nightguard. I am getting fitted for one next week, but it is one that goes between your front teeth instead of your back teeth, because if you have something between your back teeth you can still clench down on it. It is expensive-it varies depending on the area but I will be paying $425 for it in San Diego-and insurance for some stupid reason doesn't cover it.

Another option is to see a chiropractor but it is important to get it taken care of if it bothers you because it will only get worse-mine started out rather minor. My aunt had surgery a couple years ago because she never got it corrected when she was younger.

Here is the mouth piece they are fitting me for:

http://www.nti-tss.com/MainPage/Model.jpg

& Here is some info: http://www.stevedds.com/tmd.htm

[sublime311]

I have TMJ and I did have braces when I was a kid , but I never related the two. I also have a small jaw and had to have 8 teeth pulled before my braces were put on. I used to chew gum ALL the time so I always blamed my TMJ problems on that. I dunno.

Anyway, TMJ stands for Temporo-Mandibular Joint. You can get more info here http://www.entnet.org/healthinfo/topics/tmj.cfm.

I've never received treatment for it, but I also don't grind my teeth nor do I have particularly bad headaches. Most of my pain is localized at the joint and is exacerbated by excessive chewing (like gum, bagels, steak, etc). Sometimes my jaw will momentarily "lock" and that is the worst pain - luckily it goes away as soon as my jaw "unlocks". The clicking/popping during eating and yawning comes and goes, too, but I do always have a "grinding" sound when I open and close my jaw. Ibuprophen helps with the local pain and any related swelling.

Good luck!

[Scooter]

Interesting, I never heard the braces-TMJ connection before. Are there studies to back that up?

I would talk to your dentist about it, they know a lot about TMJ. It's a fairly generic term that just refers to jaw pain or soreness, but there can be a variety of reasons for it. Your dentist can help you figure out what's going on.

I did have braces, but my TMJ started before that. I go through phases where it's worse than other times. Usually related to stress. When I'm stressed I usually have a lot of tension in my jaw, which can cause clicking, soreness, or that popping out feeling. Also during stressful times I'll clench my teeth in my sleep, so I got a night guard from my dentist.

[shopaholic]

Interesting, I never heard the braces-TMJ connection before. Are there studies to back that up?
I just assumed that was the connection. I never had this issue before my braces. Maybe something happened when I had my wisdom teeth removed? I can't really pinpoint when the popping started. I have a dental appointment in a few weeks so I am going to bring it up.

Just today I experienced the pain trying to eat lunch.

[mkredhead]

I actually had to get braces because of my TMJ, so it was the solution not the cause.

I was fitted for a full mouthpiece first, which I had to wear 24/7. I wore that for a year. When that didn't solve the problem, I had braces for a year when I was a senior in high school. What wonderful timing!

I still have a lot of problems with my jaw, but it's much better now.