Goodie goodie *OWEE OWEE OWEE*

[ellid]

Yesterday morning I woke up to the most ferocious tooth grinding I've ever felt in my life. I really thought I was going to crush my lower molar, the grinding was so bad. It literally felt as if my upper jaw was in the wrong place. I waited for the clenching sensation to fade, ate a bagel for breakfast, and went about my day.

The pain started a bit after lunch. It was bad enough that I actually checked my teeth to see if it was yet another molar going bad, but no such luck - the *teeth* aren't the problem. It was this awful, dull ache that started in my lower jaw and spread along my jaw hinge and throat and face. It got worse throughout the day despite massive doses of ibuprofen, to the point that I stopped at Walgreen's after choir for some Orajel to try to numb it. That helped a bit but not much, so I took even more Advil before bed and prayed it would be better today.

Of course I called my dentist...and as soon as the office manager, who has known me for over twenty years, heard me say "I felt like my jaw wasn't in the right place," she said "It sounds like TMJ. We could give you a muscle relaxant, but you really need to start wearing a good night guard if you don't want this to happen again."

I thought about it, and realized she's probably right. I've been using a very flimsy nightguard for months, but it's time to bite the bullet and get a good one. I have a therapy appointment tomorrow night in Northampton after work, and fortunately this place is open until 6:00. I'm going to stop by, tell them my tale of woe, and basically beg.

If a new nightguard doesn't help, I'll call my dentist again and see about getting x-rays or something. I haven't been able to eat solid food today, and if I open my mouth enough to get something soft inside, like soup or yogurt, my jaw starts to ache again. Not much fun.

OTOH, maybe I'll lose a few pounds if I can't chew...*rolls eyes*....

Comments

[orphandani.livejournal.com]

Hope the new night guard does the trick. *healing thoughts*

[lherelenfeline.livejournal.com]

Ouch! That blows... yes, a night guard. definitely.

[chrisilin.livejournal.com]

Yes, the night guard will help. The other thing that helped me (since what triggers my TMJ/grinding is mostly stress) is spending a few minutes before I go to sleep thinking relaxing thoughts about letting my jaw relax and not grind overnight. Not a cure-all but it seems to help me, at least :)

[wishwords.livejournal.com]

Hmm, I had jaw clenching problems for several months that turned out to be caused by my SSRI. I don't know if you are on one, but if you are, you might want to look into it. Basically, it's a symptom of serotonin overdose. I switched to a SNRI at a lower dose and things got much, much better.

[ellid.livejournal.com]

Haven't been on an SSRI in years. I've ground my teeth almost my whole life, alas.

[gardengirl6.livejournal.com]

When I had my wisdom teeth out, I pureed everything for a week or so and consumed it with a straw. That might get you through until you can get this resolved? Good luck, and lots of sympathy.

[psyfic.livejournal.com]

I don't have TMJ, but I do have bad arthritis in my left jaw (from getting socked around a bit much in childhood) and one of my docs many yonks ago gave me the advice I still use for jaw hinge pain, esp. when eating: apply Mineral Ice (I buy the cheap generic stuff at the 99-cent store & it works ab't the same) before and after you eat and, if you can, after you eat ice it down to keep the joint and ligaments from inflaming. It works a treat when the pain is bad.