Temporomandibular Joint Disorder (TMJ, TMD, TMJD)

I'm sure at some point in your life you have consciously or unconsciously began to grind your teeth. Some people do it for years and don't notice. Others aren't so lucky. In the past two years i've experienced a lot of negative side effects of bruxism. At some level, I think I have always been a night grinder. For years I woke up with headaches and jaw stiffness. I never really thought anything of it. After I got braces, I began to notice a huge change. My head hurt terribly every single morning, my teeth were sore and hurt, I began to have blurry vision, and random shooting pains in my scalp. I was so alarmed I had no idea what was happening. At first, I convinced myself that I was dying ( like any normal person with these experiences). Panic ensued. This in turn resulted in a lot of stress, which led to more teeth grinding. For months I didn't understand what was happening. The new braces I had put on were causing so much trouble and discomfort. Within one month I had lost 10 pounds (5 kilos) because I was unable to chew my food properly. I noticed that I got very dizzy suddenly, and my neck had started to hurt horribly. I brushed this off to issues from my lower back. Just a few months prior I had been diagnosed with a herniated lumbar disc. I began running a year prior and apparently this was the result. Today, my lower back is basically healed. As my cervical/thoracic spinal symptoms increase, I wonder more and more about how my uneven skull could have played a role in this situation.

Having random shooting pains in your head and eyes can be really scary. I found myself panicked and visiting the local Emergency room many times looking for answers.  I had all kinds of fun diagnoses. A neurologist said I had a migraine disorder (wrong). Another Dr. believed I had anxiety issues (wrong).  Then there was the herniated disc factor followed by the idea that I had rheumatoid arthritis (which was also incorrect). I got brushed off by my local health care center many times. The health care centers in Finland (where I currently reside) are organized very differently than in the United States. Which can be favorable but, if you have an odd, non-text book condition- can be very difficult.  All along the answers were laying in my malocclusion and bruxism. After talking about my symptoms with my orthodontist, doctor, and surgeon- they came to the conclusion that I had TMJD. I was told to eat only soft foods, avoid chewing hard or large meals (which is hard- hey I love cheeseburgers), and no gum. I was also advised not to talk a lot (which if you actually know me, is VERY HARD). My orthodontist sent me to a nutritionist. She was concerned about my sudden weight loss. I also began physical therapy for my jaw and neck. I'll talk about that in a different post. 

My journey with TMJD has been crazy. About 6 months ago I was having terrible ear pain. At first I thought it was just the changing and windy Finnish weather. One day I went to put in my headphones and I noticed that one side wouldn't fit and was super painful. Two days following this I began having the absolute worst pain in my jaw. It felt as though someone has sent a huge volt of lightning through my face. Half of my face was numb ( like a huge slab of meat just sitting there) and the rest of my face was constantly tingling. I went on with this for a few days. I also forgot to mention that a week before this happened I had the surgical molar bands installed onto three teeth. My jaw was quite angry about this new addition and I guess my bruxism got out of hand. 

The following week I elected to visit a private doctor (ENT specialist). He believed I had irritated one of my facial nerves and that the area was inflamed. I was put on medicine (NSAID) for two weeks and this cleared up the issues. This process has been long and arduous, and I still have one more molar band to go on June 1st. 

In the midst of this my orthodontist has tried to control my bruxism in a few ways. She hoped the PT would help. She initially got me a very large mouth guard that didn't work. It was so big and since my bite is not aligned ended up on my pillow at some point during the night. About two months ago, she ordered a new type of guard. Which I'm happy to report is working. The orthodontist ended up fitting it for my teeth ( which is still somewhat ill-fitted because of my every changing teeth and bite) but working. I would otherwise have a fitted guard ( and I will after my surgery). Unfortunately, since my teeth are still moving there is no way to fit a guard to my teeth. 

Two weeks ago I actually ended up breaking a molar tooth because of my bruxism. I took out my night guard for a few minutes and accidentally fell back asleep. This resulted in a fracture. It's crazy to think about how many things can go wrong just based on jaw alignment.

My first unsuccessful night guard 

My latest mouth guard ( you can find it here: http://www.aqualizer.com/html/faq.html) 

Once again, thanks for reading!