The TMJ Association - changing the face of TMJ

TMJ Resources - Our Family - Patient Talk

Hannah

I am 29 years old and I have suffered from TMJ for about 16 years. It started when I was in 8th grade. For about 2 years we didn't do anything about it. Finally we sought orthodontic treatment and were told my cross bite was the cause of the problem and if we fixed that the TMJ would subside. Two times, I have been put in splints for relief - but that didn't work. In July of 1991 they did a surgical procedure. They said that the ligament in my joint was stretched so far that it could not hold the cartilage in place. They went it and shortened the ligament. Well, that lasted for about 2 months. They put me in braces for about 2 years and in June of 1992, I had an upper and lower mandibular osteotomy. They broke my jaws, top and bottom, and reconfigured the bite. That did not help at all.

I lived with the continued pain. In 1998, I returned to my oral surgeon. He did an MRI. It showed that the epicondyle is deformed, the cartilage is almost shredded, it is full of arthritis, and the ligament is all out of whack. He said that we could go in and do various things and replace the cartilage with a piece from my inner ear. He said that he didn't want to do that surgery because I was so young (24). He said that if it got to the point where I can't stand the pain, then they will operate. He also said that I would probably have to have a total joint replacement by the time I am 40. It continued to get worse.

In August of 2002, I was in a car accident. The accident has added more trauma to the joint. Now my range of motion is limited, I am having headaches, and the pain is radiating into my neck and my shoulder. If the MRI looked that bad in 1998, I can only imagine what it looks like now!

Right now, I am stalling from calling an oral surgeon. The surgeon that did the 2 surgeries does not take my current insurance. Currently I am being treated by the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Department at XXX Hospital. At the present time they are not treating me for TMJ. In the accident I got a severe laceration that required 50+ stitches in my forehead and the goal is to do a scar revision in the near future. They are unaware of my TMJ problem. I know that at this point they are probably my best bet for getting treatment but I don't want to go through another surgery. But it is getting to the point where I can't almost stand the pain.

An update since I wrote you:

I finally gave in and went to the doctor about my jaw. I was already seeing the Oral and Maxillofacial surgeons at XXX Hospital for the scar on my head from the accident. I went for the first time 2 weeks ago. They seem to think that it is all myofascial pain. They gave me Flexaril and Celebrex. The Flexaril has done absolutely nothing and I couldn't take the Celebrex because it made me sick and wasn't helping either. I went back there yesterday. I saw a different doctor. He, too, thinks that it is myofascial pain so he prescribed another anti-inflammatory and I am to take glucosimine. He said that I MAY need an MRI. This is very frustrating as I had an MRI in 1998 and it showed that there were some degenerative changes caused by arthritis. So I know that there is more going on than myofascial pain. I am becoming very frustrated. The doctor was going through the whole list of treatment options. I have already been through most of them in the past and I doubt that they will work now since my case has deteriorated over the years.

My old oral surgeon does not take my insurance, but after the first trip two weeks ago, I went to him for his opinion. He said that I definitely need an MRI. He says that he knows that there is damage to the disc and in other parts. He said that if we proceed with surgery at this point that there is no going back. One of the things that he would have to do is to replace my disc with a piece of cartilage from my inner ear. I know that there are no guarantees that this will make things better (and I know that it could make things worse) I am ready to try anything to get some relief. The doctor’s office is checking to see if my insurance will cover an MRI.