Originally Posted by Ughthedentist

After sending my last post which received no response my symptoms actually got much better. I was feeling great for a whole week. Not completely symptom free but greatly improved. I have been careful with eating and resting my jaw. I went for a massage a couple of days ago and felt terrific. She didn't touch my jaw much but really worked on my neck and shoulders which were storing so much tension and stress. I came home and stupidly bit into a candy bar sitting in the fridge and with in an hour my pain was back in full force. I should also mention I tried an over the counter bite guard for a couple of nights and it really did nothing to improve my symptoms. This was before I was feeling better. I honestly do not believe I grind or clench my teeth at all. There have been times that all my teeth hurt following extraction but not many and not in awhile. I truly believe the dentist damaged my jaw or tmj during extraction of those last two posterior teeth. My symptoms are as follows, jaw pain and tightness, ear pain, tinnitus, neck pain, cheek pain, throat pain and collarbone pain. Some pains occur more often than others. Jaw stiffness is present a lot of the time. I have explained these symptoms in greater detail in previous posts. My jaw also makes a grating noise when opening and closing. The grating noise is not every time only sometimes and it had really calmed when I was feeling better. I think it's a grating noise. It sounds more like that than popping or clicking but I guess I can't be sure. I do not have limited opening. I can insert three fingers in my mouth sometimes it makes noise and sometimes it doesn't. It can feel strained. I am terrified of going back to that horrible dentist. I do not at all trust her opinion. I went to her with these symptoms numerous times after the extraction and she diagnosed me with dry socket and irrigated and packed the area twice which caused me longer to heal. I am not sure I ever hAd a dry socket. She also was pretty much angry with me and rude to me last time I saw her. I am afraid she has no idea what she's doing and will only make my problems worse if I go back again. Unfortunately with my insurance you must pick one primary care dentist and she's mine. I am considering going to the oral surgeon I've seen as his website says he has experience with tmj problems. I am afraid of these people. I am afraid they will only make my situation worse. I have tried waiting it out to see if it would resolve itself. I have been waiting three months. I am seeing it as a good sign that I was feeling better and do believe my actions set me back. Since I started getting better once will it happen again? Do I just need to be vigilant and give it a lot more time? I've read tmj problems can resolve themselves. I've also read not to wait. I've also read going to the wrong person can make you worse. Bryanna I would really appreciate any help and advice you have. I just do not know what to do.