Hi, After two root canals (in same month 11/08, 3 weeks apart both #30 tooth on each side), I experienced muscle spasms and minor noises of the jaw when I eat. There is no joint noises when I open my mouth. I can open my mouth with 3 1/2 fingers inserted in the mouth. I went to a pain clinic and oral surgeon and they said that my X-rays were fine (no joint damage) but that I had muscular problems.

I have been taken Ibuprofen for the pain and Flexeril for muscle relaxants.
The muscles subsided for 2 weeks and then falred up again. I'm taking Flexeril again and going on soft diet.

What worries me the most is this constant buzzing/humminh/hissing in my ears that started about 5 days ago which have hindered my sleep. I went to an ENT and they said that my ears were fine.

Do I have TMD and that the noises are related to it? I'm waiting on an appliance from my prostodontist (occlusal guard), should be ready next week, he said it works identical to the MORA appliance used to relax muscles in TMD cases.
Will the noises/ear congestions resolved? Does this mean that my articular disc is displaced also? Can muscular symptoms be resolved completely?

Thanks,
Kim

Hi Kim,

Have you ever had TMJ discomfort in the past? Have you ever had muscle spasms in your face, head or upper body in the past? Have you ever had an injury to your jaw, mouth, head or neck?

Did the dentist restore both of these teeth with fillings or crowns?

The first issue is....... your jaw was open for long periods of time during each root canal procedure. If restorations were done, then your jaw was open again for long periods of time. Each time, pressure was applied to the lower jaw as the dental work was being done which puts alot of pressure on the TMJ area as well as the surrounding muscles. The TMJ is like a hinge, so each time you had dental work, there was irritation to the muscle holding the "hinge" which causes the muscles to spasm and become inflammed. Unfortunately, there was no real recovery time in between dental vists so the area did not have time to heal and now it is really aggravated.

A second issue is........... if the restorations have been done (fillings or crowns) the bite could be off and may need some adjustment. When a filling or crown is too high in the bite, the jaw does not close properly and it causes further irritation to the TMJ area leaving the muscle unable to relax and in spasm.

Chronic irritation to the TMJ can cause a variety of noises in the ear(s). The reasons this occurs is because the joint is not in proper skeletal alignment and that combined with the inflammation causes an imbalance in other parts of the head especially the ears.

The fact that it calmed down while on the flexerol and then reoccured when you stopped the meds indicates that the jaw joint is not lined up properly.

A soft diet with limited chewing is probably a good idea for awhile. Hot moist compresses to the TMJ area before you go to sleep at night may be helpful also. The nightguard appliance can also be helpful in putting the jaw in a resting position taking the pressure off of the TMJ, enabling the muscles to relax.

TMJ problems can take a very long time to heal. Some people have recurrent bouts of muscle spasms, etc. and others do not. Some helpful suggestions are to deliberately relax your entire body....... through meditation, yoga, and those sort of things. Believe it or not, being able to relax our bodies will help to alleviate or lesson muscle spasms anyplace in the body. It also trains our brain to deal with our discomforts with less stress and more gently than we are accustomed to.

If you have not had TMJ issues in the past, you may be able to fix this problem by acting on it now just as you are doing. This condition is not rare by any means and it is often triggered or caused by dental work!!

I hope this information is helpful to you. Please let us know how you are doing........

Bryanna ~'.'~

No, I have not had any muscle spasms or issues before this.

The first root canal I've had filled and restore right away. The second one I only had a core buildup and shortly thereafter (3 weeks), I had muscle spasms in my face.

Correction. I looked backed on my records and had my 1st root canal done on 9/23/08, restoration 3 weeks later. The 2nd root canal was in early 11/08 and only core buildup done last week of 11/08. Three weeks later, I had muscle spasms in face.

I didn't have the core buildup filling grinded down until early February because my dentist wanted to wait until my muscle spasms resolve. I have a temp on now and awaiting crown insertion 3/20/09.

The nightguard makes my teeth sore in the morning and caused this burn sensation under my ears. I've had it adjusted several times.

The muscle spasms has resolved but I do feel tightness in the muscles. Also, the ringing is till there (loud!). I'm wondering if I should put my permanent crown on if I still have the tight muscles. Also, I question if the temp (made when I was having muscle issues) is shaped correctly to my bite. What should I do? I don’t want a bad bite permanently with permanent insertion of crown. What should I do? I do feel better than when it first started in 11/08.
I'm suspecting that muscle spasms were caused by high core buildup filling. My root canal were spaced a decent month apart. I still have popping when I eat and the upper jaw feels numb at times. I had an MRI on 1/23/09 and results were normal (discs normal joints normal).

Do I have severe TMD? It's been 3 months and it hasn't all gone away (ringing/face oddness) Or is this just a case of high filling that caused strained muscles. What should I do about the crown situation?

Also, my face used to be very fulled and now looks gaunt. My temples have shrunken as well as my cheeks. Could this issue have caused muscles to atrophy? Is this permanent atrophy since I went on soft diet?
Thanks.

I think the ibuprofen may be a culprit in your ear ringing
symptoms. It is a listed side effect.

You can read more here:
http://www.tchain.com/otoneurology/d...g/tinnitus.htm

I know what you are going thru tho.
I had a back upper molar start to die...from a filling a dentist did wrong/too deeply. I never had pain in it, but it became infected and drained into my sinus on that side. So I was ill frequently with that. It never swelled up, or really hurt much.
The first sign in years was a jolt during a cleaning, but the hygienist put it down to "sensitivity" and told me to get Sensodyne! It showed up normal on Xrays!

Near the end it inflamed my jaw on that side, and I developed lock jaw. I was sent to a TMJ specialist and he said I didn't have TMJ but he gave me Robaxin to relax it. Finally after 3 dentists, I had it root canaled. That ending the mystery.

It was totally confusing and a very unpleasant experience. I don't know why 3 dentists couldn't come up with a solution more quickly! (4 years!) After the root canal, my face did go down on that side...it was very subtly swollen after all.

Hi-
I still have very loud ringing. I stopped taking Ibuprofen and Flexeril back in February. Why is it still ongoing?

Also, I'm starting to have a lot of muscle twitching all over my body (back,shoulder,leg,thighs etc.)

This feels neverending and I hope that what I'm experiencing for the last three months are strained muscles and not TMJ.

My nightguard actually makes symptom worse whenever I wear it.

So, how are you doing now? Back to normal and no TMJ issues?

Please advise.

Hi blue diamond,

You could be having some TMJ issues from keeping your mouth open wide on both occasions and if the core buildup was too high, that too could have irritated the muscles and ligaments. There is no way for me to tell if the new crown will fit properly into your existing bite. It is best to communicate with your dentist about the difficulties you are having and let him palpate the muscles to see if they are tight.

If you are waking up in the morning with sore teeth and burning under your ears, then you may be grinding your teeth in your sleep. Nightguards are meant to alleviate that grinding habit. So if your NG were fitting properly, you would not be experiencing the soreness or burning. If the NG has been adjusted several times with no improvement, then you may need a new one made. Again, communicate this all to your dentist.

The change of the shape of your face may be due to weight loss?? The facial muscles won't atrophy as you have described in just 3 months. Since you have been on a soft diet, have you lost weight? Again, bring this up to your dentist since he is the one who has seen what you looked like before.

I wish I could be more of a help to you, but the best suggestion I can offer is to communicate all of these issues to your dentist. If you feel he is not listening to you, then you may have to seek another dentist.

I hope you get the relief you need soon! Please keep us posted on how you are doing!

Bryanna

Bryanna-


The crown was high so I had it adjusted a couple of times. I no longer feel that crown and dentist said my bite is more even. All back teeth are now meeting. However, my ear pain/numbness still exists.

Also, I am a grinder./clencher so I wear my nightguard at night. I had huge temporal and masseter muscles before this situation and it has since shrunken. Could weight loss contribute to the shrinkage of these muscles are is it fat that were loss? I was having trouble chewing for quite some time (still now).

Also, the ringing in my ears is incessant. I have tried to schedule more appointments with specialists but they are booked out until June. So far, I've seen 2 oral surgeons, 2 ENTS, my pcp, a pain clinic, and 2 dentists. I don't know who else I could seek out for help.

Or is this more of a wait and see situation. Could this issue completely go away? I have been enduring for 3 months.

I suspected that this was caused by the filling of the last root canal to be too high and was not addressed timely.

Thanks,
Kim

Hi Kim,
it has been an while since you posted this, but I am wondering how you are doing now.. have you found what was going on with you?
I have the exactly same symptoms, including the spams muscles, and twitches on neck and shoulders . I have tmj and well, and my face has lost its fullness as well.. in only 3 months... how are you now? is your face normal again??
Thank you!!!

Hello Drian,

Welcome to the NeuroTalk Support Groups.

Just wanted to tell you that you can also do a full forum search e.g. keyword 'Temporomandibular' and that will bring up other posts across all the forums ... some more recent.

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/search.php

take care.