Expert: Susan Tannenbam - 2/11/2004

Question
My daughter woke up yesterday morning and could only open her mouth 1 inch or so. In the past 3 weeks, she has been experiencing "locking" of her jaw which she has been able to "unlock", but yesterday this was not the case. We took her to the doctor yesterday who suspected she has TMJ problems and prescribed ibuprofen and then suggested massage thearpy if this does not work. My daughter is 14 and I am fretting that this will plague her all of her life. She was in tears yesterday, and understandably so. She could barely eat. Please help if you can and thank you. Cindy Geiger in Ohio

Answer
Dear Cindy,
I am not a dentist, nor a doctor, but I  have had TMJ in the past.  I am free of all pain now.  Please remember I can give you advice, but I'm not a doctor.
I also was unable to open my mouth much .  This is due to nighttime clenching and grinding.  It makes the muscles responsible for opening and closing the mough so tight, that one can have the trouble you describe.  I didn't have any locking, so I don't know abou that.
I recommend you find a good dentist that treats TMJ.  if you live in the NY area, i would be happy to give you thename of mine. He is with the NYU School of Dentistry, dept of TMJ.  

Your daughter MUST be fitted with a hard nightguard.  Mine fits on the bottom teeth and is very comfortable and I would never think of not wearing it at night.
It just  helps the condition so much.

I used muscle relaxants but I don't think I would give this to a young person, altho you can ask your TMJ dentist.

I used a great acupuncturist.  The relief was almost immediate.  It takes time to find a good one, so don't get discouraged, because once you find one, it's well worth it.

Your daughter should NEVER eat bagels, chew gum,  She should stick to soft food for now.  I'm on all food now, except for bagels and gum .  (NEVER!).  

Your TMJ dentist can give her a gel that is applied topically.  It numbs the pain.  you need a prescription.

Aerobic exercise is GREAT as it releases endorphines which help all pain in the body.

Here are exercises that helped me: l. Open the jaw wide, hold and repeat  2.  Hold the neck to one side, hold for a minute, repeat and do the other side.  CHECK WITH YOUR DENTIST BEFORE DOING ANY OF THIS.  HE MIGHT HAVE OTHER ONES THAT SHE CAN DO, THAT WOULD BE RIGHT FOR HER CASE.

I USED THE Alpha-Stim 100.  You can read about this on alpha-stim.com   A doctor told me it was safe and effective, and it is.

I did relaxation exercises to relax the  muscles in the jaw area.  The worst thing to do is to PANIC, as this feeds into the pain.  Relax, and sit quietly and just observe the pain, and it will lessen.  I know this might sound silly, but it works.

Application of wet heat is good.  Also try cold.  Some pp find one or the other better.

I had the worst pain ever, with TMJ, and now I'm fine.  I suggest you find a good TMJ dentist.  This is the first step.  If I am OK now, your daughter will be, too.  But she must get a good TMJ dentist.  If you live in the NY area, I will be happy to share the one I use, and also the physical therapist I used (ultrasound helped tremendously for me which she did, and also the dentist did).  

Please email me if you have any other questions, or if you want to try my dentist, etc.
suelliot2@earthlink.net
Thanks and good luck.