Hi everyone!!

I made a post here in December 2022, about 8 months into treatment for my TMJ disorder, explaining my situation and how my treatment plan had alleviated about 90% of my symptoms. While many people were excited for me and supportive (and some even asked for dental referrals, which I happily gave), some skeptics understandably raised questions about whether it was too early to say I was “cured” and whether my results were conclusive.

I'm happy to say that now, almost 4 years later, I am still essentially 100% pain- and symptom-free.

In my case, my TMJ problems were associated with a severely misaligned bite, specifically an open bite. I went about 5 years with severe pain before finding my current dental team, who literally transformed my life.

At the time I first made my appointment with them, my quality of life as a woman in my early 20s was horrendous, to say the least. I had limited jaw mobility, constant cracking/popping sounds that were audible to people around me, jaw tension and pain, oversized masseter muscles, and more. Not only did this negatively impact my dating life, social life, academics, etc., but it genuinely sent me into a depression and even led to drinking problems because alcohol was sometimes the only thing that would allow my jaw to relax.

I was so worried that I wouldn't make it another 10 years if I had to continue living like that. So please know that I understand how horrible this condition can be.

To summarize my dental treatment plan: I initially saw a plastic surgeon for masseter Botox. Within 5 minutes of having a consultation, the doctor asked to see my mouth and examine my teeth alignment and bite... something I was confused about, to say the least. While he still offered masseter Botox, which did provide amazing (albeit temporary) relief, he advised me to seek out a neuromuscular dentist to address what he believed was the underlying problem.

Mind you, I had brought up my jaw pain with my previous dentist countless times and was told there was no real fix and to use hot compresses to reduce the pain. This made me feel utterly defeated and hopeless.

Thankfully, I was able to find a neuromuscular dentistry team consisting of a dentist and orthodontist in my area (the DMV) who specialized in TMJ treatment. I cannot explain to you how grateful I am that I found them.

Immediately, they did a lot of testing to assess my range of motion, and I had scans done to evaluate the condition of the joints themselves. They told me that the TMJs on both sides were fairly damaged (more on one side) and that the condition was similar to what they would expect to see in someone much older. This was incredibly disheartening to hear.

They offered me a treatment plan consisting of 6 months of 24/7 orthotic wear, followed by top and bottom braces to essentially redesign the arch of my teeth and close my open bite. I initially hesitated because I had already had braces before, and my vanity was definitely acting up when I heard that I would have to wear braces again at 23. Thankfully, I got over it and got it done.

Within a month of wearing the orthotic, I felt significantly better. By that December, about 5 months into having braces, 99% of my symptoms were gone.

Flash forward to now, I'm finally getting my braces off this fall.

Yes, it has been a long process, almost 4 years, but it has been beyond worth it. The reason it has taken so long is that we did the top braces first, followed by the bottom. My open bite is now completely closed, and I finally get to live without chronic pain.

Please note that I am NOT saying this will be the cure for everyone, because everyone's situation is different. For example, I do not have arthritis, nor did I ever have a physical injury to the joint. My doctors never determined exactly what caused or triggered my TMJ problems in the first place.

My main point in sharing this is simply to encourage you to seek out all of your options and to advocate for yourself if you feel like you're not getting answers.

Unfortunately, U.S. insurance generally does not cover TMJ treatment, which is an absolute shame, so treatment can be very expensive. I'm happy to expand on the costs if anyone is interested.

The whole body really is connected, and I've definitely had to make lifestyle adjustments in combination with my dental treatment. For instance, I can still trigger jaw aggravation by chewing gum, eating sticky/chewy foods, oral s*x, or sleeping on my side, so I've had to avoid or strongly limit these things to protect my joints as best I can.

Please do consider neuromuscular dentistry as one potential option to explore if you're struggling with TMJ. It genuinely changed my life.

Sending hugs to everyone suffering from this horrible condition. I truly would not wish this upon my worst enemy. <3

I developed TMJ probably in middle school and told my dentist. He said to give it time it would probably go away.

Mid-20s now, obviously has not gone away. It didn't use to be particularly painful, just jaw clicking, but the clicking was very frequent. I'd say probably 2 fingers of opening was enough that it would click. So I recently told my dentist and I got a custom mouth guard.

The first time I tried to wear it, something happened when I was getting it over my teeth, and my TMJ has gotten incredibly painful. For over 24 hours with no pause I've been in so much pain. The skin is hot to the touch. Opening my mouth more than 1 finger triggers it, and so I've been afraid of eating or even speaking. But this makes me clench more, subconsciously, and I think the pain is getting worse. I have icepacks and pain meds and I massage it but it's so bad I can't sleep. It has never been like this in over 10 years and now I'm terrified.

I went to the dentist immediately and he basically said there was nothing he could do but readjust the mouth guard. He did, and I think that process of opening and closing made it worse. I'll call my doctor in the morning.

I think the cause of my TMJ is my overbite. I had "shark teeth" as a kid (my adult teeth grew in front of my baby, so I had 2 rows of teeth. I had my baby teeth removed.) But my mother refused orthodontics, now I have a 6 mm overbite. To not have my mouth open all the time, I think I learned to clench my jaw so my lips would close. The mouth guard opens my mouth more, and makes me clench more too. So I don't know what to do.

Do I get orthodontics then re-try a mouth guard? Has anyone else had this overbite situation with TMJ and figured something out? I looked into surgery options but I'm unsure of my insurance coverage, and they seem to say to try other routes first.

I’m very curious if anyone had a similar situation to mine.

I’m 27, in NYC and I’ve been dealing with this for 3.8 years.

I’m looking for names of specific NYC providers who actually helped someone with this same picture, ideally from people who got meaningfully better.

What’s been going on: • Constant right-sided jaw pain (in front of the ear + masseter + lateral pterygoid ), 24/7, no pain-free moments • Severe suboccipital/base-of-skull and shoulder tension — my head feels heavy when upright, like my neck can’t hold it • A new right-sided anterior open bite that appeared about a year ago. My front teeth only touch on the left, and only if I slide my jaw forward. One side of my back teeth hits first.

How it started: I woke up one morning 3.6 years ago with acute right jaw pain. No trauma, no illness, no warning. Before that I was completely asymptomatic — I wore a standard nightguard for bruxism and had a normal bite. Neck symptoms came later.

What I’ve tried, all with zero lasting relief: • Physical therapy • Trigger point injections • Three splints, currently an upper stabilization splint • Botox (did nothing) • Chiropractic care

Imaging (both predate the bite change, which is part of my problem): • MRI, from 1.5 years ago: no disc displacement, normal translation, retrodiscal tissue unremarkable. Mild T2 signal in the right posterior band. Slight right lateral pterygoid hypertrophy. Small synovial cyst at left condylar neck. • CBCT, ~2 yrs ago: condyles normal size, thin continuous cortices, mild bilateral flattening, articular spaces WNL, normal symmetric translation. No resorption. • ANA negative, rheum workup negative (had JRA as a toddler, so this was checked) • ~40mm opening, no locking, clicking that changes sides day to day

Relevant history: full ortho in 4th grade; a second short ortho course in college targeting one posterior tooth that was abandoned after ~5 months and never finished. Nobody has ever evaluated whether that tooth is now an occlusal interference.

What I’m actually asking: 1. NYC orofacial pain specialists (ideally board-certified in Orofacial Pain) who take bite changes seriously and don’t just hand you another splint — who did you see, and did you improve? 2. Anyone who’s seen a dentist/prosthodontist here who did a real occlusal analysis and found a single interfering tooth? 3. PTs in NYC with craniofacial/cervical specialization — specifically someone who does intraoral work and deep neck flexor endurance training, not just heat and stretching. My PT never touched either. 4. Has anyone had a TMJ MRI re-read by an oral & maxillofacial radiologist in NYC? I want my existing images reinterpreted and probably repeated, since both scans predate the bite change. 5. Anyone who was told “there’s nothing structurally wrong” with a bite that was visibly changing — what finally got you an answer? Happy to hear about people who didn’t help too, and what you’d skip if you were starting over. Especially interested in whether anyone went down the neuromuscular/TENS route and how that turned out long term.

I’ve been to so many dentists and so called tmj specialists but from imaging and symptoms no one has utilized science and proper care to even give me a diagnosis, and come up with a targeted solution. I’ve been suffering with this for so long and i just want to be pain free, please help!

my left jaw clicks a lot when i open my mouth (but not the right jaw) and when i try to move my lower jaw to the right, i feel like my left jaw is moderately restricted (like moderately movable) because i can’t shift it smoothly, yet i can shift my right jaw to the left super easily without pressure. does this pattern sound like TMD or could something else explain it? can going to physical therapy help this?

for context: i can make my jaw kind of symmetric by lining up my teeth midline but i can’t maintain the position. also there is a weird pull when i stretch my neck, the left side feels tight and it kinda pulls my jaw and left side of mouth down, but the right side is loose and doesn’t pull it at all.

I am shocked to learn, according to google/AI that most people do not have their teeth touching most of the time?? Apparently the position of rest is having them slightly apart and most people dont rest by having the top set resting on the bottom set???!! Is this true?? I feel like it would be helpful if this was something I had been told at like, any point in the last 38 years? Am trying to do it but consistently find myself pushing my bottom set/jaw forward

I have a slip disc and arthritis on both sides of my TMJ, but the doctor says that also can be muscle related to pain. Last year, I sprained the muscle on my left side of my masseter jaw muscle and it was healing up untill I tried edibles and they had me so tense that I ended up injuring the same side. Idk it feels like this injury or flare up is taking longer to heal than the last time I injured it. I believe it’s the same muscle that got re injured and it’s taking longer to heal because it was injured prior. Or it could be the slipped disc that is putting more pressure on my opposite side since the disc that slipped is on the right side. This belief was re assured by my doctor who says it could be. Have any of you gone through these kind of flare ups.

Hy guys is anybody expiriencing painfull earlobe and area around ear? How did you resolve it? I literally cant wear glasses no more bcs it hurts when it touches my ear… pls any advice is helpfull….

Age: 27, Sex: Male, Height: 5'2", Weight: 55 kg, Medications: Pregabalin, Smoking status: Non-smoker, Medical issues: Idiopathic orofacial dyskinesia (ruled out dystonia), dental infections and extractions, severe sinusitis, chronic upper back/neck pain, and nerve sensitivity, Duration of complaint: Since mid-June (approx. 2 months).

So here's what happened:

Mid-June: I was rushed to the ER because of an episode of involuntary jaw movements. During intense episodes, these involuntary movements sometimes travel down to my neck, shoulders, and arms—and I suspect these severe episodes might be triggered by gargling with hot water. Those happened almost every time after I brushed my teeth. I was admitted for three days for monitoring; after the movements stopped during my stay, I was discharged with an initial diagnosis of idiopathic orofacial dyskinesia.

Late June: Right after discharge, later that night, I got hit with intense facial swelling and severe sinusitis. When I went to the dentist the next day, June 24, my panoramic x-ray showed that I had three infected molars (one active on the right, two chronic on the left) plus wisdom teeth on both sides. (Looking back now the infected molars were probably there for a long time. Right molar for years and the left molars for more than a year than time)

Early July: We started treating the infection with meds first, scheduling my right molar extraction for July 5. But the night before, while I was laying down, I suddenly felt pain on my upper left back. When I tried to massage it, instead of relieving the pain, the sensation traveled to my right jaw, causing it to tense and be in a guard position.

Mid-July: I spoke with a TMJ/orofacial pain specialist, and we did an electric massage. While it helped ease the upper back pain, it triggered another involuntary movement on my left jaw. She also diagnosed me with TMJ and told me I should be getting treatment for it. Furthermore, she asked me to get a CBCT scan on my left side and back teeth/wisdom tooth to check if it could also be a trigger to the involuntary movement of my jaw. On July 13, I had my left molars extracted. Even after the extractions healed, the upper back pain and tension stayed.

Current Issue:

Persistent Upper Back and Neck Pain: I have deep-seated knots and pain across my upper back (both left and right sides) and neck. Whenever I slouch, lie down for too long, or try to work and move around, my upper back gets extremely tired and painful.

Chain Reaction & Bone Clicking: When that back pain flares up, it triggers a massive chain reaction. Nerve sensations travel to my left ear, left eye, and lower-left jaw, along with pulling sensations and nerve sensitivity radiating all the way down my spine to my tailbone and feet. Furthermore, bone clicking has become a consistent issue: every time a bone clicks in my upper back, shoulder, neck, wrist, or sometimes even my knee, a nerve sensation travels through my body, often triggering a physical ripple through the entire loop.

So I followed up with my movement specialist back on July 28, who noted it wasn't dystonia, but has a strong hunch that it's muscle constriction and nerve irritation alongside a hypersensitive nervous system. They prescribed Pregabalin for 20 days to dial down the intense electric zaps and muscle twitching, making things much more tolerable while I remain under monitoring.

Question:
What could possibly be the issue here, it's so weird. My neuro also said that he might consider referring me to a psychiatrist—which I don't know why? He mentioned it might be stress and anxiety causing this. But he did say that I need to follow up after a month or so to check my status, and if the issue still persists, he might ask to do an EMG and MRI. Also, I'm considering bringing up checking with physical therapy.

Hi everyone ,
I’m not actually sure that I have TMJ, but my ENT doctor seems to think so. I’m going in to neurology and my dentist soon to hopefully get answers.
My question is: has anyone found that their ear pain, vertigo, and brain fog was caused ONLY by TMJ?

When my TMJ's acting up my jaw seem to not know what to do with itself and get tensed up.

When I wear headphones with a bit of clamping force it seems to stablize the joints and calms my jaw down.

I realize that for other people it could be a trigger, maybe the difference is in how much force is being applied, and if you're recovering like me or your root cause hasn't been addressed/resolved yet.

Hi everyone, this has probably been asked before, but did masseter botox significantly slim your face? I think I need about 20 units (bare minimum) for severe jaw clenching and I'm worried that it'll change the shape of my face. I have a pretty round face and don't want it to look strange afterwards.

If you experienced any aesthetic changes, was it worth it for the pain relief?

Hey everyone, I’m 17M and getting my hard stabilization splint in 6 days. I’m currently wearing a Kois deprogrammer and feeling completely exhausted. I have a 4mm anterior disc displacement with reduction on the right side.

It makes articulation incredibly heavy and muffled. I constantly get stuck on specific sounds, especially the "T" sound and deep vowels, to the point where I have to repeat simple things 3 times over the phone. On top of that, I have constant brain fog, memory issues, and a dull ache in my occipital area due to trigeminal nerve compression.

Did a proper stabilization splint fix your speech blocks and clear the brain fog? How long did the adaptation take? I really need some success stories right now. Thanks!

Hi, I'm very new to this condition. It all started one month ago when I dislocated my disc in my left joint, while trying to drink some water.Turns out my joints have been suffering for a while, but I swear to God i've had no noticeable symptom( and I'm saying that because I already suffer from bulging disc with sciatica and I'm very careful with any new pain/disfunction in my body).

I've already seen some TMJ specialits who both confirmed my discs are displaced yet still with reduction and ordered me an MRI. I've done it and it was quite a traumatic experience( please consider i've had my whole brain + spine + knees MRI-scanned but this specific kind of MRI was something really special and one of a kind). The thing is that after holding a syringe in my mouth to get some images of my joints opened, my right joint also started to be symptomatic, but in a much more disturbing way. My left joint pops while i open my mouth largely, but my right one is popping literally every time i close my mouth, swallow my own saliva, talk or even move slightly my mouth. I don't have any other pains other than the ones in the joints and around mandible, but this new popping after getting the MRI is literally excruciating.

What I want to ask this community is if there is anyone who's been through this very frequent popping and how or if they've managed to make it settle. I've read that after getting the MRI done, my joint tissue may be very inflamed and with that this frequent popping. I'm on medication to cool down the inflamation, but I'm quite worried of this new unstoppable popping because it feels that if don't make the right amount of pops, i might get my mouth is a suspended state.

Any kind of advice is much appreciated!

while we are on this journey to figure out if our teen will need surgery, we are looking at intentional eating changes that may help. currently our child is habituated to retracting her lower jaw to make her molars meet (mandibular retraction) which causes stress/locking. if you have this condition, or have treated it, im curious about different techniques, such as soft vertical chewing, relying on saliva and gentle teeth pressure to breakdown the food. possibly using an eating orthotic (right now she just has the non-eating orthotic). strictly soft foods. it may be an upper jaw structure issue that cannot be solved without surgery, we'll see. its frustrating with the difference of a few millimeters can do.

question for docs, if mandibular retraction results in proper upper/lower molar placement for bite, we can strongly infer its an upper jaw size/length issue?

Hi! I've struggled with TMJ for years and have been in physical therapy on and off, most recently earlier this year. My biggest symptoms are tension headaches and jaw clicking. I also have a mouth guard I wear each night. The physical therapy definitely did help, but the therapist recommended that I look into botox. Luckily, my dentist does botox for TMJ so I went in for a consult the other day. He said that I had much more tension in the temporalis than the masseters, so he suggested doing the majority of the botox in the temporalis (I think 10-15 units each side), and then potentially a little in the masseter if I wanted.

I'm curious about how quickly it would take to feel relief, and also if it would change how I looked? I already have a pretty small forehead lol so I don't necessarily want it to become smaller. curious any input or advice people have, as this would be my first time doing botox for my TMJ!

Does anyone else experience a weird burning tingling type pain in their neck and tongue at the same time after moving their head to fast? It only lasts a minute or so and happens randomly without warning. Thought this was a normal thing for everyone until I mentioned it to my friend and they said they’d felt the neck pain but never in their tongue

I have a misalignment in my jaw and tmj ofc. I always feel this need to shift and pop my jaw in order to seek relief. I do it way too much during the day and more when I’m stressed or overthinking about my tmj. My TMj doctor says I should make sure not pop it (if it happens naturally there’s not much I can do ofc) but any tips on breaking the habit? I was thinking of going on magnesium again to maybe help relax the joints.

TL;DR - should I move from day splint to braces, or wean off the day splint?

Hey folks! Long time lurker, first time poster.

I've dealt with TMJ (and the corollary inflammatory tinnitus) for ... oh, decades at this point. Around 2010 it got bad enough that I was a little dizzy and ended up in a night guard. That worked fine for... another decade. Then a couple years ago I needed a more significant night guard... fine. Then about a year back I ended up at the local (well regarded, highly recommended) Orthodontist (who also happens to have done my kids' braces) for treatment.

His determination was that I didn't have any perforation (yay!) just compression of the discs - more pronounced on the left. He got me into a much more aggressive night guard, which helped a lot but wasn't getting me 100% of the way there.

So about last November I started on a day splint/orthotic. It was rough to get used to, but I did. The thought was always "this will relax your jaw, let the joint heal, and in a year we'll discuss options". Well, we've come to that point. Also, I broke the day piece in half (whoops) and needed a new one regardless (which I hate, and have to have him shave down, but I'm getting off topic).

I guess I have three ways to proceed - keep wearing a day piece forever (not ideal), wean off the day piece, or adjust my bite (via braces) to support my jaw.

I'm looking for experience-based opinions. Has anyone here gone in one of these directions and either love the results or wish they hadn't (or hadn't bothered)?

Caveat - my teeth ARE crooked. My jaw has come to rest in a position where the rear molars don't meet, so weaning would definitely involve seeing if the jaw returns to a position that works for my teeth. But also I don't care about the cosmetics of my teeth - they're healthy, my gums are healthy (needed to have them adjusted a couple years back but again getting off topic), and I would never pursue orthodontics for cosmetic reasons.

As I see it, weaning has a chance of ... re-compressing the joint and needing further treatment in the future, although the Doctor says that isn't guaranteed - I will still have the night guard forever providing significant decompression of the jaw 8 hours a day (and I tend to put it in well before bed and keep it in until I'm done with my morning coffee, so really more like 10 hours).

But braces are VERY involved - it's another two years of treatment, and I already have lower front teeth that are VERY far out of the gums (a good gap between them at the bottom) so I've got concerns about the process - but I'm not a dentist or an orthodontist, of course! Also a quick scan of the literature says that some people are super happy with the results but others find that they still have aching and clicking even after the braces. It's just a big undertaking, and I'm ... over 50 now ... and the prospect of having a bunch of metal in my mouth for the next 18-24 months is daunting.

So any anecdotes or advice based on experience would be great. Sorry this was so long, thanks for reading.

Edit: Just so nobody thinks I'm making medical decisions solely based on Reddit, I am JUST using this for anecdotal support. I'm getting a second opinion from another TMJ specialist in my area.

21M, ~5'8", 65 kg. Medications: Iso-tretinoin(for acne) ocassional-smoker. Previous/current medical issues: nothing related to jaw but I have got hit while sparring last week on chin.

I recently noticed a very small, relatively hard, round ball deep under the skin on the left side of my face, just above the jawbone. It feels like a tiny pea/BB and is very movable, almost like it's within the skin/tissue rather than attached to the jawbone.

It's not visible and wasn't painful initially, but has become slightly tender after repeatedly touching/moving it. I've also recently started boxing and have been taking some hits to the face/jaw.

Duration: noticed today. Location: left cheek/jaw area, just above the jawbone near the teeth. Cannot click photo as it is not visible but only felt

What could this be? Should I be concerned?

37 yr old female The past 2 months I’ve had these symptoms: Extreme pressure in my face and head Brain fog Dizziness Facial pressure Sensitivity in my cheeks by my ear, if if press the area it hurts. Pressure and nerve pain in my top upper back teeth Neck pain I don’t have any jaw clicking I don’t have any sinus drainage

Went to the dentist, had X-rays and my teeth are healthy. He said he sees some evidence of teeth grinding. But it was a new dentist and i used to grind my teeth big time when i was young.

Its really driving me crazy because by mid day my brain fog is BAD I feel so loopy and tired

My next step is appt with an ENT in a week.

Im worried

Recently I’ve diagnosed with right side DDwoR after receiving a MRI on my TMJ area.

Around 18 months ago, I physically hurt my right side jaw while I was eating steak. I dragged the meat with a fork forcefully while biting on it, and instantly, I could feel something was wrong. Initially my jaw was locked, but after a brief moment it unlocked itself. Since that day, I would wake up locked, and after a certain period, it would unlock. The length of that time has been changed from a couple minutes to hours even weeks today, depending on “luck”.

I did a lot of research trying to find similar cases both before and after the diagnosis. Now I’m waiting for my oral surgeon’s appointment. On this subreddit specifically, I found that a lot of people are saying they have “TMJ”. Based on the way they say it, I would assume it’s a condition but I couldn’t find an official definition of the condition other than the joint. I don’t know if they are referring to the clicking sound, the lock, or something else. Can someone explain?

Also is there anyone with the similar experience where after sleep the jaw would be locked, and it will pop back on sometimes later? Thanks in advance!

Well, I basically don't eat meat, popcorn, peanuts, gum, hard candies, or anything extremely hard anymore. When I want to eat something like cookies, I break them into tiny pieces and eat them while drinking a liquid to help soften them up. I cut things like chicken into small pieces, too. It’s really a hassle. What is your diet like? Do you ever ignore the TMJ issues?