May 24th, 2014 at 08:12pm
I can't open my jaw fully when yawning, and I struggle with moving my jaw to the left without it spazzing, stiffening or popping. My jaw pops and aches all the time when I eat especially tough food to chew - must be annoying for people who I eat with aha. My dentist said the likely cause for it is teeth clenching or teeth grinding which can both occur during the night when we're unaware and are common coping mechanisms for stressful situations. Are you feeling constantly under pressure by something at all? Whether you are or not, I'd definitely mention it to your dentist at the next appointment and they can get a mouth guard moulded for you which you can wear on the bottom set of teeth overnight. Definitely sounds like TMJ to me. Something else which can ease the pain is to relax all of your face muscles (when no one is looking of course unless you want to receive some funny looks) and massage gently around the aching area. But I think the mouth guard is most effective. I initially hated having to wear this along with my retainers, but I've woken up recently with jaw aches and tried the mouth guard again to find that it's actually quite comforting due to its soft, rubbery texture to clench/grind on.
The bad thing about it is that I don't have the insurance for a dental exam. If I was a year younger I could, but with an extra plan, it would be around $30. My health insurance is $86.21 and that is with a tax credit. If it gets any worse, I am going to go to the doctor right away and see if they can't prescribe some muscle relaxers. My aunt has TMJ and that is what she takes. Poor woman, her TMJ is so bad that it causes really bad migraines and everytime you see her she has a headache. I took a Naproxen last night (didn't go to bed until 5 in the morning and had to get up at 10) and it took away some of the pain, but I could still feel it. When I open my mouth to yawn, it sounds like someone is crushing rice crispies at my jaw.
I am not that stressed about anything. My daughters big birthday is coming up and we have had some family issues recently, but it is nothing that major. I might be clenching my jaws when I sleep because I do sleep on my stomach at night and lay my chin down on my arms, so that could possibly be making my teeth clench all night long. If it doesn't go away by mid next week, I will be going to the doctor.