Hi HayleyJ,
My interpretation of what you stated your oral surgeon said to you is this>>>
There was trauma to the jaw joint and the ligament during the wisdom tooth extraction. Your clenching habit is aggravating the injury. Your bite is obviously off because he can see that clinically when he checks the movements of your jaw.
However, the flat spots on the cartlidge at the joint occur from long term aggravation on the joint. I seem to recall you writing that you had a TMJ problem in the past. Is that correct? If so, then that is probably what the flat spots are from and the extraction of the wisdom tooth injured the ligament, misaligning the jaw putting more unnatural pressure on the joint.
People can live their entire lifetime with occassional TMJ popping and infrequent tightness but seldom will it cause them pain until there is trauma to the joint and/or ligament. Chronic TMJ issues will wear down the cartlidge and cause the joint and musculature to become weak. Is this your particular case, I could not tell you for sure, but it may be a possibility.
Do I think you should just wait it out?? IMO..... no. I think a bite appliance to place your jaw in a relaxed position may be helpful.... especially if this IS a long term problem which started before the extraction and if you do clench and/or grind your teeth.
Until your jaw relaxes and your bite lines up again, your diet should definitely be limited to foods that do not require alot of chewing. You should be careful not to open your mouth too widely for any reason.
The medication he prescribed mersyndol, is a very strong pain reliever (codeine) which also has an analgesic calmative to induce relaxation. It is generally used for migraine or tension headaches. It may temporarily help in your situation but I still think you would benefit from a bite appliance.
Do I think this problem will resolve on it's own? No because you have a clenching habit which is aggravating the joint and ligament. A bite appliance will allow you to clench into it without causing any harm to the TMJ. You can then find some form of relaxation therapy, like massage and/or biofeedback, to help you stop the clenching.
Those are my personal suggestions for you. I think if you don't do anything but take the meds and eat soft foods, the cartlidge will continue to wear down.
I know this is very hard to deal with and you really need a dentist to be of more help to you. Did you look at the IAOMT site for another dentist?
Keep in touch...... I hope you are feeling some relief soon!!
Bryanna
Quote:
Originally Posted by HayleyJ
I saw the oral surgeon today - I don't know that I am truly any better off though to be honest. I was not really given specific answers, but I am hoping you may be able to further explain for me?
Firstly, he explained to me that my problem is complex, and has arisen from perhaps a mixture of trauma from the wisdom tooth extraction and the clenching since that time. There is notable asymmetry in my bite.
Secondly, he began to explain that flat spots have been created on the cartilage between the joints, which creates that rough, painful and loud movement and an inability to close smoothly, without some assistance from my hands manoevering the top jaw.
He told me that the only thing he can recommend is for me to rest my jaw as much as is physically possible. He spoke of a night guard, however thought that would not really benefit me, as he thinks that I simply need to undo my behaviour by myself (i.e. clenching)
However, he did recommend that I buy Mercyndol from the pharmacy as it has both relaxation and pain relief benefits.
So, I left and then started realising that I really don't know any more than when I went in, and I still dont really have a solution - except to continue to avoid things I have already began to avoid due to my pain - and hope that it sorts itself out in time... Is it likely that it could fix itself, being that this has been coming on for around 7 months?!
Should I be basically on a fairly liquid diet? (I have made a lot of wholesom home made soups to get through this!!!) Should I seek a second opinion? Will my bite ever realign by itself? (It is to the right by a whole tooth on close, and slips further upon opening) Or, should I just do as he suggests and wait it out a while and rest as much as possible and hope for the best?!
I am rather lost!
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