Jaw is killing me...

[rifleman]

There is a sort of line in the middle on my cheek, but why would something like this start now? I'm 17, never had this happen before. Is there anything I can do (like taking advil) that will make it better while waiting to see a doctor? Also, what if I stuck something like a rag in my mouth at night so I wouldn't grind my teeth?-would that prevent it?

Thanks a million, I can't believe I got such great responces to a medical question in a paintball fourm, lol.

Shartley - If you can image yourself chewing on gum really hard for like 1 min, the sore aching feeling in your jaw is what I have right now. Some times its bad, and sometimes I barely notice it.

[Thordic]

You'd probably choke on it :-)

My TMJ never developed until I was 18 or so. Most of the time you need some sort of injury to trigger it. Mine was spurred by a fairly viscious crosscheck to the jaw, but my friends came on as a result of having her jaw messed around with during her wisdom teeth extraction. Any unusual strain on the jaw muscle can do it, I believe.

If you go to the dentist, they can set you up with a special device that you can wear at night to stop the grinding. I've been so far too lazy to get it, and because of such I've been dealing with it for three years now. Then again, it took me two years to finally get to the doctor about it in the first place. Cutting back on foods that cause a lot of stress on the jaw helps a LOT. Avoid bagels, gum, big sandwiches, or anything that requires you to chew extensively. I think the dentist told me to avoid steak too, but if she thinks I'm giving up steak, she's crazy.

[rifleman]

Just to make sure this is the same thing, the pain in my jaw kinda comes and goes throughout the day. It doesn't start up when I'm eating or anything, and it doesn't hurt in the morning either. This is TMJ?

[Thordic]

Its sorta weird...

I've had times where it wouldn't hurt, but I wouldn't be able to open my mouth very wide for a week, other times where it would hurt for a few days, sometimes it would only hurt for a few hours, other times it clicks in an annoying fashion but doesn't hurt, etc. I don't think there is a set of exact symptoms beyond the fact it leads to jaw pain and malfunction.

[Hasty8]

Interesting. My three year old grinds his teeth really bad at night when he sleeps. I guess I'll have to talk to a dentist about it.

[Dubstar112]

i figured out how to crack my jaw, although its prolly not good for me.. i just crack my jaw when i feel the pain and it relieves the pressure..

my symptoms started when i was in judo, practicing akimi rolls, when my friend rolled next to me, and kicked me in the face pretty hard... ..... the memories of that pain.

then somewhile later i fell off my skateboard and fell directly on my face pushing my jaw backwards.. then the pain started again...

as of now i have a speech impediment.... although not as bad as it should be from all the violent blows in judo.

the worst part is, im 14 and have a whole lot more accidents on my way.

[This message has been edited by Dubstar112 (edited 08-29-2001).]

[rifleman]

Been hurting like when you chew gum really hard since monday, and is getting worse... Any ideas?
Ouch,
Adam

[shartley]

Don't chew gum really hard?

No, seriously, you didn't give us much to work with. Is it localized pain, general pain, sharp or dull? Could be a lot of things.... but your description is like taking your car to the garage and saying, "It goes thump."

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“The richest man is not the one who has the most, but the one who needs the least.”

[Ni cD]

Well, take a few asprins...then maybe see a doctor? That always works.

Hope ya feel better soon.

[Thordic]

I'm a resident expert on TMJ...

Two quicks tests:

1) Take a look at the inside of your cheek. Is there a noticeable "line" across the center or is the inside of your cheek smooth? A way to test the same thing is to look at the side of your tongue, and if there is sort of a wiggly line going around the sides.

If the answer is yes to either of those, then that means you grind your teeth at night (Its hereditary, doesn't mean you are going insane or anything ) This makes you a prime candidate for TMJ, and you may want to call your dentist to set up a TMJ consultation.

2) Get someone to stand behind you, and place their fingertips right in front of your ears, on top of your jaw joints. Then open and close your mouth slowly. If both sides don't move in unison (IE, one side seems to move before the other does) then thats another strong indicator. Again, set up an appointment with your dentist.

If you do have TMJ, don't worry. Unless its advanced, it really isn't that bad. You just have to avoid certain foods (bagels, large sandwiches, gum, hard candy).

Anyway, hope that helps a little. You'd be surprised how many people suffer from TMJ.

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[Thordic]

<font face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Hasty8:
Interesting. My three year old grinds his teeth really bad at night when he sleeps. I guess I'll have to talk to a dentist about it.</font>

I'm not sure if everyone who grinds their teeth is at risk for TMJ, or if there is any way to "cure" it. As I understand it, grinding your teeth is one of a few conditions that cause and perpetuate it (Others include biting your nails, and a few other things I can't remember), but it takes some sort of injury to trigger it. What happens is you injure the muscles around the joint, and due to the damages done through the irregular jaw behavior (such as teeth grinding), the injury is never allowed to heal correctly. This causes the cartiledge cap that rides inside your jaw joint to occasionally get stuck, causing your jaw to either stick, or make it "click" as it pops loose. The muscles and tendon would normally keep the cap from getting stuck, but since they are injured, they are looser than they should be, and the cap is more prone to sticking.

One "cure" is to wear a special retainer that causes your jaw joint to open more (not your mouth, just the joint itself), which keeps your cartiledge cap from getting stuck, and it allows your muscles/tendon time to heal.

As for preventive medicine, I think some sort of mouthpiece to wear at night is the only thing. Doing it for a child may be impossible due to all sorts of things from a choking hazard to the fact you'd have to get it updated often as the child grew (which would be expensive, as the mouthpiece requires a mouth mold to be cast).

But yeah, talk to your dentist about it. If the dentist agrees, you could at least keep your kid off of certain foods that cause problems, which alleviates a LOT of the problems for me.

[belligerant1]

take 60 vicadin and you'll feel better in the morning.

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"give me an inch and i'll give you a bruise" team image.
"Give me a plate of food and i'll give you back an empty plate" Terry Lane, team 5 to 1

this one goes out to the kids who drove 6 hours in a stolen car and missed the tourney!!!!

is it wrong to want to shoot you just so that i can hear the splats hit your goggles?

[rifleman]

Hmm....the pain has pretty much cleared up. I think it started hurint on monday, now it's sunday, and I'm all better. During the week I took 2 tylenal every 4 hours and that helped quite a bit. Then yesterday, I didn't take anything and when blowing on my barrel to get a ball out I kinda popped my ears a little, and that made my jaw hurt really really bad. Today, I havn't felt any pain at all..so If it doesn't return, I probably won't even see a doctor...

[ReTroMagBoy]

why we are on the subject of jaws...my jaw pops ALL the time. When i open my jaw, to keep it from popping i open it croooked. its strange. it doesnt HURT, but it does cause some discomfort. It never really started until about 5-6 months ago when i got sealents on my back teeth. It messed up my bite and within a few weeks my jaw started to pop whenever i opened it...

[Restola]

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