wondering how long does TMJ last
By babystar1
@babystar1 (4233)
United States
May 19, 2012 2:40pm CST
did anyone ever have tmj. I was wondering how long it takes to go away. I have been having this problem now going on 6 weeks.I still cant open my mouth all the way. If any of you out there had this problem please tell me what you did for it to go away.
2 responses
@peavey (16936)
• United States
20 May 12
I used to suffer with it a lot, but it just quit bothering me after awhile. One thing you can do - and I know it sounds silly, but it helps - is to "cluck" your tongue several times. It relaxes the muscles around the jaw hinge which helps things get back in the right place. The reason you can't open your mouth all the way is that the bone is misaligned with the joint. Once you've relaxed those muscles enough, the bone has a chance to fall back in where it belongs.
Tension causes a great deal of our problems, and TMJ is mostly from tension. Try to keep your mouth, jaw and neck muscles relaxed and it will help.
@babystar1 (4233)
• United States
20 May 12
I have been using heat and ice on my left side of my face, but I still cant open my mouth much at all. How long did yours last at a time.? I will try the cluck thing. I will try anything right now. did you go see a dr about it? I did see my dentist but all he said was you probably got tmj told me that i might need a night guard but that cost 300 dollars. Also gave me some exercises to do for it but they dont help either. thanks for your comment
@peavey (16936)
• United States
20 May 12
I don't remember how long it lasted each time, but I don't think it was that long. Be careful of having a dentist help. Many of them are not trained in TMJ treatment, I've been told. The exercises won't do any good until this spell is over and your jaw feels more normal, if they're the ones to strengthen the jaw muscle. Relaxation is the most important thing.
Since you still can't open your mouth all the way, your jaw is probably partly unhinged. A doctor should be able to fix that for you.
@babystar1 (4233)
• United States
23 Jun 12
yes my dentist really did not help me at all. its is going now on 12 weeks and it is not any better. I still cant open my mouth all the way. I did go to my doctor but she was no help told me to take some pain pills to see if that helps and charged be 146 dollars for 5 minutes of information. That made me so mad.
@rewardsinlife (1132)
• United States
19 May 12
As far as I know, it lasts a lifetime unless you get it surgically repaired. I had a friend who did get is repaired because she kept getting lock jaw from it and now no longer suffers from it. However, it is a painful procedure in which they have to break the jaw and realign it. She was badly bruised and swollen for a good 6 weeks before she showed signs of improvement.
@babystar1 (4233)
• United States
20 May 12
Oh my i hope I dont have to get it surgically repaired. But its been going on 6 weeks now and I still cant open my mouth very much at all. I wonder if I should go see a dr. about it. Did your friend get xrays taken.
