Migraines

[Silverfern]

My husband's dentist thought he had TMJ once, all they did was sell him a $500 mouth guard shaped to him mouth. He wore it for a few months at night, it didn't do anything. But if you suspect that, you can get those guards for about $20 at a sports store.

[ChristineLynnP]

My husband's dentist thought he had TMJ once, all they did was sell him a $500 mouth guard shaped to him mouth. He wore it for a few months at night, it didn't do anything. But if you suspect that, you can get those guards for about $20 at a sports store.

Like Dick's, maybe? I don't need it custom-fitted? Although I supposed custom-fitted is usually just a trap to get us to spend more money. I was told that I had to have custom-fitted insoles, or my plantar faciitis would *never* feel better. I admit that the thought of wearing slippers as shoes for the rest of my life is rather unappealing, but I actually had great success once I had a name to my problem and bought OTC insoles specifically for plantar facitiis. I "lost" one of them *suspicious look at the ferrets* but once I buy a new set, I am very interested in seeing if they enable me to wear regular shoes again insead of only open-backed slippers. Plus I saw my mom's custom insoles for the first time, and I cannot imagine how walking on such a hard plastic-like material can possibly help any.

[Xarata]

the mouthguards are just for people who clench/grind their teeth -either during the day or especially when they sleep. They wear them when they sleep to prevent that clenchind/grinding (which is one of the causes of TMJ). I've never worn one, but then i also still have TMJ and still grind my teeth. My friend had one and ground through the rubber in a week and never replaced it. Like I said, their primary purpose is to keep you from clenching/grinding your teeth while you sleep. If you're not a teeth grinder, it would be totally pointless to get one. I also bite my lips and cheeks which is also bad.

Some of the things that can cause TMJ (it can be any of them, all of them, or none of them):

-High stress levels
-Physical trauma to the face (like have a tooth pulled or being in a car accident)
-Bruxism (Clenching or grinding your teeth)
-A misaligned bite
-Repeated aggravation to the joint and/or muscles of the face (like sitting/sleeping with your head the same way for hours at a time)

The most effective treatments are exercises that target the muscles in your jaw, cheeks, neck and shoulders and preventive measures for catalysts (like a mouth guard for teeth grinding, better posture, that sort of thing). Most people get TMJ in spurts (if it's caused by stress, it may disappear after the stressful time of your life has passed, etc.)

You may not have TMJ-i just wanted to throw a new venue to explore as a possible cause for your pain if it is something you experience. My TMJ migraines go in a pattern kind of like those earmuffs that wrap around the back of your head. The pain wraps from one temple around the base of my skull in the back up to the other temple.

[Silverfern]

My husband's dentist thought he had TMJ once, all they did was sell him a $500 mouth guard shaped to him mouth. He wore it for a few months at night, it didn't do anything. But if you suspect that, you can get those guards for about $20 at a sports store.

Like Dick's, maybe? I don't need it custom-fitted? Although I supposed custom-fitted is usually just a trap to get us to spend more money. I was told that I had to have custom-fitted insoles, or my plantar faciitis would *never* feel better. I admit that the thought of wearing slippers as shoes for the rest of my life is rather unappealing, but I actually had great success once I had a name to my problem and bought OTC insoles specifically for plantar facitiis. I "lost" one of them *suspicious look at the ferrets* but once I buy a new set, I am very interested in seeing if they enable me to wear regular shoes again insead of only open-backed slippers. Plus I saw my mom's custom insoles for the first time, and I cannot imagine how walking on such a hard plastic-like material can possibly help any.

Exactly, I think he got a new one at Dick's, haha. I love that your ferrets stole your insole. I miss our ferrets terribly. We had 2, years ago. They are the best little demons.

I didn't mean to discount any of the other treatments for TMJ, btw. Just throwing our experience out there. I think that a primary care doc should diagnose it

[packgal]

My husband's dentist thought he had TMJ once, all they did was sell him a $500 mouth guard shaped to him mouth. He wore it for a few months at night, it didn't do anything. But if you suspect that, you can get those guards for about $20 at a sports store.

Like Dick's, maybe? I don't need it custom-fitted? Although I supposed custom-fitted is usually just a trap to get us to spend more money. I was told that I had to have custom-fitted insoles, or my plantar faciitis would *never* feel better. I admit that the thought of wearing slippers as shoes for the rest of my life is rather unappealing, but I actually had great success once I had a name to my problem and bought OTC insoles specifically for plantar facitiis. I "lost" one of them *suspicious look at the ferrets* but once I buy a new set, I am very interested in seeing if they enable me to wear regular shoes again insead of only open-backed slippers. Plus I saw my mom's custom insoles for the first time, and I cannot imagine how walking on such a hard plastic-like material can possibly help any.

this is why you need to see a dentist who has experience with TMJ problems. the "boil and bite" mouthguards you buy at dicks are not the same as a custom fitted one made by a dentist who has been trained, or who has a special interest in, TMJ. even for athletes, those mouthguards aren't that great--and they're definitely not designed to redistrubute the forces that would be causing TMJ pain. after a dentist has made you a mouthguard, they should be adjusting the mouthguard periodically. my husband says that it's common for you to need an adjustment 3-4 times until the bite remains stable. he's seen people for whom mouthguards have made a significant positive improvement--and if the mouthguard breaks, they wake up in severe pain from sleeping with it broken only one night.

also, if you've had any significant dental work done, or if you have any restorations (like fillings, crowns, bridges, etc) you need to go to a dentist to make sure that's not what is throwing off your bite like sam mentioned. this of course is a dentists opinion

[Xarata]

I'm currently hunting for a TMJ specialist whitney- don't suppose your husband wants to bump over a state to PA? lol

The pain- you cannot even imagine, it's like 24/7 torture. I had my back molar crack when they took out my wisdom teeth(i had 6- meaning extras in an extra small mouth) which eventually finished breaking, i do grind my teeth. Fast forward 3 years and the break exposed the nerve and i had it pulled. You would think it would be my jaw that hurts the most but no- it's my ear, and behind my eyes, and my neck, and i've had a migraine for 4 days now. I always had those symptoms off and on at different times and different degrees but it's like the trauma just brought it all on in force. Vicodin is lousy- did absolutely nothing for me. So for now, I'm dealing- but it has given me a reason to finally treat my TMJ. Oddly enough, I never went to a specialist because it really didn't bother me (though the sound drives my mother crazy),but everytime i go to a dentist and open my mouth wide they cringe and comment. I'm sure I need the whole 9 yards, the nightguard, a realignment, and exercises to boot. It'd be worth it though- to never have to feel like this again.

I have been working- the next time anyone thinks about undertipping a waitress because she wasn't quite perky enough, just remember she could be hiding a grimace of pain in that smile. Sometimes, it's just darn hard to twinkle.

It's a shame most dentists/surgeons don't really list TMJ as a specialization. I may call my insurance company just to see if they have one on file.

[darkhairedgirl]

Just a quick comment as I'm typing this on my phone- If you grind your teeth, those boil and bite nightguards can actually make you grind more, as they are soft and you just chew on them all night long. I have TMD and am a hygienist. I love my custom fit nightguard and won't sleep without it!

[ChristineLynnP]

I have been working- the next time anyone thinks about undertipping a waitress because she wasn't quite perky enough, just remember she could be hiding a grimace of pain in that smile. Sometimes, it's just darn hard to twinkle.

I always try to keep that in mind. I never undettip for not "twinkling" or being perky, but a tip will quickly dwindle away if a waitress is outright rude, brushes off my concerns, or doesn't attempt to do a thing to fix a wrong, which sadly, happens. But I've always been an over-tipper

You know, the more I think about this situation, the angrier I get. Looking into TMJ, this whole thing is falling into place. I admit that it's been a few years since I've been to the dentist, the year before last I couldn't find a convenient one that took my insurance, and last year I didn't renew my dental. But for 2010 I will have an amazing plan under which everything except dentures and braces are 100% covered without even a co-pay, so I intend to get this fully taken care of.

I've been to various doctors for my migraines with no success. Not one ever mentioned TMJ, but this sounds lke a specialist thing, so I can't fault them. I do, however, fault both dentists that I've been to throughout my life. My migraines have been a lifelong thing, for as far back as I can remember. I don't even know when my jaw clicking, and jaw pain/tenderness started, but I do remember constantly going to my dentist years ago because of unexplained pain and being told that I just had sensitive teeth.

What angers me so much about this, however, is going to sound absolutely unbelievable but is 100% true: I suffered a severe tooth infection my entire senior year of high school and didn't get it taken care of until the second sememster of freshman year in college. It wasn't for lack of trying, either. I went to my old dentist several times and told him where the pain was and described it. His answer? I was mistaken about where it was coming from, it was actually wisdom tooth pain and they needed to come out immediately. So he refers me to the "only specialist in the area" that I can go to, 2 hours away. Of course I didn't go there; my parents found an oral surgeon a block away from him, and I had to wait 2 months to get in to get my wisdom teeth out. The whole time I was in constant, excrutiating pain and my days just felt foggy and hazey because I woke up in pain constantly throughout the night. I finally get my wisdom teeth out late in my senior yr of hs, and guess what? They pain never went away. Not for an instant. It absolutely did not subside. I went back to my original dentist. He again said nothing is wrong, and completely disregarded my tears of frustration at that point. A few months later, the filling in my sore tooth falls out. I go back to the oral surgeon, since my dentist was writing me off. Come to find out, I had a severe tooth infection and after it's cleared up, I'll need a root canal. He gives me an antibiotic and says I need to go to a different surgeon, he doesn't specialize in what I need, so I set up an appointment, and for 3 courses worth of antibiotics, my infection kept coming back so quickly and severely that the surgery had to be put off and rescheduled constantly until they ended up having me take my last pill the night before coming in. And at that, they said it was one of the worst infections and I ended up needing more novacaine or whatever it is for someone my size than they have ever seen.

Never mind the fact that since then, that tooth has broken (back in August) because apparently you're supposed to get a crown after a root canal, but no one ever told me this. My mom said that she thought I opted not to get it because I didn't have the money. I would've had the money for it no matter what, I didn't get it because the dentist never told me to. The surgeon had me follow up with my new dentist, and he never alluded to the fact that I needed anything else. Needless to say I'm pretty ticked about that.

But anyway, now that I've established what uncaring, flip dentists I've dealth with... one of them did ask me if I grind my teeth once. I forget if it was the first or second one, but all I know is that it was at least 10 years ago while I was still in school, before college. I told them I didn't know- because until recently, I really didn't know. Sometimes my jaw ached so I assumed I clench my jaw but I didn't equate that with tooth grinding at the time. I thought it would've been the dentist's job to look into it a little more thoroughly though, maybe by asking some leading questions to find out if I'm suffering other side effects other than what he very obviously saw that made him ask in the first place.

Anyway, /end rant I guess. Sorry about that. It's just that the more I think about things the more upset I become... it's hard, when you've suffered migraines for as long as you can remember, to see all the pieces potentially fall into place and wonder what the point of all those visits were if I was paying people who should have helped me, just dance around the issue instead.

In the meantime, I've looked into some at-home tips, such as becoming more aware of when I'm clenching my teeth and forcing myself to relax and place my tongue like the articles say to. I guess I was grinding my teeth last night because my jaw is a bit achey and my teeth feel tender, but I will say that I'm really notice that I do clench a lot throughout the day. Hopefully becoming more aware of it is the first step, until I can see the dentist.

And I won't buy that mouth guard that was mentioned if it has the potential for me chewing more on it than I clench/grind to begin with, but thanks for the suggestion.

You guys have helped me out so much herer, so thanks, everyone

[packgal]

I'm currently hunting for a TMJ specialist whitney- don't suppose your husband wants to bump over a state to PA? lol
It's a shame most dentists/surgeons don't really list TMJ as a specialization. I may call my insurance company just to see if they have one on file.

sam--i wish my husband could "bump over" and take a look for you. even better, i wish you could come see one of the dentists at the Cleveland Clinic who was the instructor that he worked with the most when he was in dental school. that's the only reason he knows about TMJ disorders--he just happened to get this particular preceptor for 2 years in dental school, and it happens to be one of her specialties. it is annoying that dentists don't really list it as a specialization.

and speaking as a physician, i wish i knew more about teeth. i'm almost done with my training (to be a pediatrician) but i think it's safe to say that it would take a pretty good adult doc to even think about the teeth or the TMJ as a source of headache, especially migraines. the training we get about teeth is pretty minimal, and it's probably the same with most adult internal medicine or family drs.

... I went back to my original dentist. He again said nothing is wrong, and completely disregarded my tears of frustration at that point. A few months later, the filling in my sore tooth falls out. I go back to the oral surgeon, since my dentist was writing me off. Come to find out, I had a severe tooth infection and after it's cleared up, I'll need a root canal. He gives me an antibiotic and says I need to go to a different surgeon, he doesn't specialize in what I need, so I set up an appointment, and for 3 courses worth of antibiotics, my infection kept coming back so quickly and severely that the surgery had to be put off and rescheduled constantly until they ended up having me take my last pill the night before coming in. And at that, they said it was one of the worst infections and I ended up needing more novacaine or whatever it is for someone my size than they have ever seen.

Never mind the fact that since then, that tooth has broken (back in August) because apparently you're supposed to get a crown after a root canal, but no one ever told me this. My mom said that she thought I opted not to get it because I didn't have the money. I would've had the money for it no matter what, I didn't get it because the dentist never told me to. The surgeon had me follow up with my new dentist, and he never alluded to the fact that I needed anything else. Needless to say I'm pretty ticked about that.

oh christine, those stories are just awful. i am so sorry you had experiences with crappy dentists. there are definitely crappy ones out there. it makes my husband i hope that the things you are trying help and that ultimately you will be able to see someone who can help you out on a more permanent basis.

[ChristineLynnP]

I know it's been quite a while, but I went to my new dentist Monday and yup, it is TMJD. SInce the first visit doesn't allow time to sit and go over stuff like this, it's just a check-up to see if I in fact do have anything wrong, they scheduled me to come back in 2 weeks to see if I need a mouth gaurd and if the jaw exercises and not eating crunchy foods during that time have any effect. Surprisingly it does. I also cut out chewey foods on my own too, and it's helped considerably. If I don't get a headache today, this'll be 5 days straight without one, which hasn't happened since I was 8 years old. So, in 19 years I've never had such a long headache-free time span. Just wanted to say thanks for suggesting that as the cause, I don't think I ever would've figured it out on my own.