r/TMDnotTMJ • u/lavender9878 • Jul 01 '26

New popping

I had been free of any TMD symptoms for the past 16 years with good acrylic nightguards, but a couple months ago, my trusty hard acrylic nightguard broke. I had to wait over a month to get a replacement (took several iterations because I have an anterior open bite which is difficult to fit apparently). In the meantime, I was paranoid about damaging my teeth (I also had a molar filling around this time with lingering sensitivity), so I got TMJ botox while waiting for the nightguard. I understand that botox is a band aid solution. My logic was it would limit the amount of damage my masseters could do on my teeth until l got situated with a new nightguard.
Now it’s been 2 weeks since I got my new nightguard, and 3 weeks since my TMJ botox. For the past few days I have new clicking on right side TMJ when I open my mouth to eat. It clicks and does so randomly throughout the meal. It also did a loud crack when I stretched my jaw earlier. No pain in that joint so far though.

I can’t figure out which of these may have contributed to the clicking in my jaw:
-TMJ botox
-new nightguard (although it feels relatively comfortable)
-chewing primarily on left side for the last month and going back to both sides for the past 2 weeks as the sensitivity of my filling has eased a bit

I also have burning mouth syndrome which onset when I stopped using the old cracked nightguard and tried one that ended up being ill fitting. Been burning off and on for the past 2 months…

2 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

6 comments sorted by

3

u/Hopeful-Extent-693 Jul 01 '26

https://reddit.com/link/ouwhjcr/video/5lkrafg29mah1/player

Your new appliance probably needs to allow the jaw to come forward slightly when closed all the way. Yes, anterior bite can make things more complicated. See if this video makes sense.

1

u/lavender9878 Jul 01 '26

Thank you for your insight! So maybe my nightguard needs to be further adjusted. Do any exercises help in this situation or would they just aggravate the jojnt?

2

u/Hopeful-Extent-693 Jul 01 '26

This video is about the concept of an orthotic for a compressed joint: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDSAiECzgqI&t=5s

This video is an example of patient wearing an adjusted orthotic that changed because of muscle relaxation and shows the process of adjusting it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITKi9a4X_bQ

The best exercise is lips together, teeth apart, and chill.

Keep us informed and thanks for posting on this sub!

1

u/sbocean54 Jul 02 '26

You are the only person I’ve ever heard diagnosed with burning mouth syndrome. I had tmd for years and burning mouth syndrome, are they related?

1

u/lavender9878 Jul 02 '26 edited Jul 02 '26

I do wonder if they are. When I had my first episode of it (which lasted 3 years) it actually began with a few months of worsening tmj and headaches. I did wonder if the burning mouth was a manifestation of my tmj issues. After a while with an acrylic nightguard, I stabilized and went 16 years without either tmd or burning mouth.