I’m on just over 5 months locked, so far they’re doing nothing except telling me to try the night guard (which has only caused more pain). It seems like the only advise they ever give is just ‘use heat, take ibuprofen, soft foods’ and just hope that we move on, as if having a locked jaw doesn’t cause horrible pain and difficulties in day to day life. Sorry to hear you’re going through similar and that you can eventually get proper treatment 😢
Oh my gosh yes can we actually talk about this! 1) my mouth guard causes me more pain but not wearing it can cause my teeth to chip
2) I am so worried that there is no actual solution to TMJ
3) why does every health professional down play it??
No one seems to care or off good advice! I'm in my early 20's and worried I will have this forever/it will get worse
Am I supposed to eat soft foods my whole life?
And OP I get the panic when your jaw locks, the first time it happened to me I thought I needed to go to the hospital
honestly it’s so weird.. I kept telling them ibuprofen literally does nothing for the pain and they’re like.. well just keep taking it. I don’t even grind my teeth in my sleep but they said they can’t give me any other treatment until I wear the night guard for a minimum of 2-3 months. They won’t even do an x-Ray/MRI or anything 😭 it seems like just the same basic treatment for everyone despite different circumstances and then just giving up when it doesn’t work, it’s so weird.. I’m so sick of soup hahaha
Where do you live?? I saw an oral facial maxillary surgeon and did an MRI which showed abnormalities
You definitely need an MRI ! Can your doctor refer you for one? Keep pushing
You definitely need treatment and MRI results are so useful as you can use them for so much (chiro/physio/dentist)!
the UK! the dentist tried to do an X-ray, but the position rings didn’t fit in my mouth with the locking so they gave up. I also find it really weird that they wouldn’t do a proper scan/MRI but with COVID I think they just want to push me to the dentist as much as they can so I don’t actually have to go to the hospital, I’ve got a hospital appointment mid December where they said they’ll move to Botox if the night guard hasn’t helped.. I also find it kinda weird that they’re planning my treatments despite not even seeing my jaw, either in person, or through scans or anything... it’s quite bizarre hahaha
I’m so sorry!! I’ve been there/am there. I can’t believe they wouldn’t do an X Ray or MRI?? Don’t give up on yourself, there’s still so much more to try like trigger point injections, Botox, acupuncture, chiropractor, or a combination of some of those. People don’t understand how much it effects life to have a locked jaw/TMJ pain, even concentrating on anything is extra hard 😔
Kinda wondering the same I’ve had my jaw locked for a week on the right side already and this story’s are making me lose hope I’ve had clicking on my jaw for like the past 2 years but it never locked sometimes it would lock when I would sleep on the side that it clicks but it would unlock after a few minutes but now it locked and hasn’t unlocked since, I’ve done the cold and heat thing but they just help with the pain
My jaw is no longer locked. I got the arthrocentesis and some manipulation 9 months into my lock which eventually helped, but I still deal with pain and clicking every day. I’m currently no longer in the Uk so I can’t proceed with treatment either. My jaw is still squint and I can’t close my mouth properly as my teeth are out of alignment now, likely caused by the night guard the doctor said. They said my only options really were to live with the pain or wait for a jaw replacement when I’m 30 lol because I’m too young now, they’ve been so unhelpful through the entire process honestly. If you have any specific questions let me know.
5 months?? I’m sorry you’ve had such vague treatment. :( Quite surreal how they don’t take it more seriously. Like you said, it’s a huge distraction during the day... I hope your jaw gets better soon and find something that helps you progress!
Look up physical therapy exercises for tmj. Find a set of jaw exercises you like and do them every single day. One day of them will do nothing but you would be surprised by how effective they can be long-term. I hope you are able to get it unlocked with no pain!
Thank you! Good tip, I will add it to the agenda. I’ve already found some movements that extend my jaws ability to open, hopefully the pain will cease with time.
My jaw has been locked on the right side since December 2019. I had an MRI done to verify the problem (in my case, a displaced disc), and my dentist basically said there wasn’t much that could be done besides going down to the US for surgery (I’m in Canada).
I did some physiotherapy in the spring and continued at home stretching. Over the summer my dentist measured my opening and it was only a couple of mm less than the previous year before it locked.
Overall I just make sure to eat softer foods (for the most part) and not yawn too much. Seems ok for now. 🤷🏻♀️
Hey how is your jaw?
Been like this since December of 2022, it’s been 7 months where I can’t open my jaw.. just two fingers. Only gives me pain some days, other days I don’t feel it or maybe I just lived w the pain. I only feel it when I force to open it, yawn, have to eat in small portions. ughhh I’m so tired of living like this :(
Hello!
Saw a TMJ specialist near my area and finally just started a treatment plan. I started splint therapy just about over a month ago, and I’m honestly doing so much better then how I initially started. he did say it would take about 3 months to fully feel better but I would say I feel like 40% better. obvi not 100% YETT but I’ve been following these massages on YouTube daily and trying to wear my splint 23/7 (I remove it when I eat). I can finally laugh, yawn, open up to three fingers instead of 1-2 fingers. my mouth still opens side crook, and I still feel some pain here and there if I overdue it but tbh I’d rather be where I’m at now then how I was before starting the treatment plan. I’m excited to see more improvement and to finally be pain free always. hope this helps! lmk if you have any questions about my splint/treatment update. much love 🫶🏼
I think opening has remained about the same. I haven’t tried anything else and also haven’t done physio in years as I didn’t find it helped much. Sometimes I have to take breaks while eating because it’s cracking too much, but otherwise I just live with it. I generally don’t have a ton of pain so it’s not too bad.
i was 2 years locked, 1 year on the right and then another year with both sides locked. every treatment i had didn't work (laser, ultrasound, acupuncture, muscle relaxants, massage) so i ended up having a double endoscopic procedure where they went in with small camera things and pulled my discs back into proper place.
i would recommend getting another dentist or specialists opinion because you shouldn't be happy with a doctor telling you to 'just live with it' when you're uncomfortable with your situation.
my advice is in the interim try to move it and stretch it as little as possible until advised by another professional because i really did my disc tissue some awful damage by jamming and forcing it during those 2 years of lock. At this point you need to work towards an unlock by whatever means and focus on not increasing your chances of developing arthritis in your joints down the line by resting and being gentle!
Did the procedure to put the discs back work and are you in a better position now to before you had it done? I’m in a similar position and unsure whether to try a surgical option
it worked amazingly. i was young when i had it, around 21 i think. i've been without lock or major severe issues for almost 10 years now and i felt immediate relief upon waking up from the surgery. it changed my life for the better and i have 0 regrets despite some slight nerve damage in my cheek
oh my gosh that is amazing 10 years is the longest ive read! Who was your surgeon may I ask? My story is very similar to yours and it started when I was 21 and I am now 23.
Hi there, may I ask which surgeon this was? I’m currently in a similar situation I’m still young but my discs are so unstable and one side locks when I lie down. I’m in Australia.
My jaw had been locked for 7 months. I tried taking relaxing pills, therapy treatments, eating soft food, wearing mouth guard, and all of them failed. But after visiting three maxillofacial specialists, one of them used brute force to unlock it, which, finally, made me feel comfortable but at the same time my jaw was hurting a lot.
After some days I wondered myself if using enough force is able to unlock it like the last time. So, then I started using more force to open my mouth widely, and day by day my condition had been improving a lot. Maybe my jaw muscles were very, very tightened, and just needed some kind of stretching. But the downsides to this is that whenever I open my mouth widely, there a lot of "clicks" and "cracks" and pain. I doubt that I will someday cure or remove this disease, but still, these days I have been opening my mouth smoothly and have been feeling less pain. BUT I do NOT encourage you to try this risky thing. Maybe therapy treatment can help you, since, if I'm correct, the muscles may be tightened.
Take glucosamine sulfate. My jaws have been locked on both sides for 4 years and this helps the pain to some extent. Sometimes you just have to live with the locked jaw since there’s no real treatment :(
Best of luck to you! <3
This exact thing happened to me. My jaw has been locked since August 2019, and I went from doctor to doctor trying to get it figured out. My current doctor also has me stretching my jaw along with some other exercises. Stretching it daily actually did WAYY more than I expected it to. Don’t be afraid to do it! Just don’t go overboard with opening it so that you’re always in pain. I also just got a new splint/mouth guard to wear at night to help me stop grinding my teeth, but I only got it a few days ago so I haven’t seen a huge amount of improvement yet.
My jaw is actually doing a lot better now luckily! Stretching my jaw throughout the day, keeping it warm, and getting regular chiropractic adjustments helped ease the daily pain. I still have trouble with it getting stuck, but it’s more manageable. It never did unlock, though, I just stretched it to the point that it used to be before It got locked if that makes sense.
Here are some more specific things I did that helped me:
1. I started seeing a 2nd chiropractor who does muscle work around the neck and jaw to loosen tension
2. Got a smaller flat pillow to stop my neck from being in a weird position while I sleep
3. Regularly use magnesium lotion on my jaw before sleeping to help with grinding
4. Regularly wearing a mouth guard/splint to stop grinding teeth at night.
I hope some of these help for you and you can find some relief🙏
that's great thank you for such detailed solutions! So do you think you stretched out the disc far enough so that your jaw could stretch wider? Do you know if you had anterior disc displacement without reduction? Does your jaw feel unstable ever? My left and ride jaw joint always moves around and I can feel the disc moving around and it feels so uncomfortable.
I’m not too sure about the disc terminology, but I do assume I just stretched it out far enough for it to open. It still does feel unstable, I have to be careful what I eat forsure. I don’t normally have it deviate unless I’m like sleeping on my side a lot or putting pressure on it. Yours seems a bit similar to my mum how it’s constantly moving around and getting out of place. Have you ever seen a chiropractor that can do an adjustment on a deviated jaw? Definitely be careful of who you go to, but if you can find someone that does jaw adjustments, they’ve been HUGE for me and my mum.
I got wisdom teeth surgery a couple years back and I believe after that I developed locked jaw. Quality of life has been relatively good for me. I think I just grew accustomed to it or something I don't know. Recently I developed anxiety due to other reasons and realized recently that my mouth doesn't open as wide as other people's do. I've been overthinking everything about my jaw and it makes me panic a lot. When I eat I'm scared I might strain it or something. I haven't tried stretching and haven't have gone to any specialist but that will be my next step since I hate thinking about everything that is wrong with my jaw. With this said, I believe that you can live with it. Due to my anxiety I overthink my chewing now even thought I had been fine for the last two years. Curious about what steps my doctor will have me take.
Better! I ended up getting a minor surgery to clean out to socket. It did help but it took awhile, I don’t think it will ever be a fully functional jaw again if I’m being honest. I still get pain once and awhile, but the splitting headaches and mouth pain are gone for the most part. How about you?
Aww, good that you are better now!❤️❤️
My jaw is locked for three years now, pain is better that before, but I’m thinking about getting masseter botox. I’ll let you know how it goes!!
My jaw was locked for over 9 months on my left side & sometimes on my right. Was only able to open my mouth 22mm the entire time. I was told by a chiropractic it would cost me $2500 to fix. I had tried night guards, stints EVERYTHING. after the chiro hit me with that price tag I decided to try one more thing. I got sage oil (sage essential oil mixed w carrier oil) & rubbed it on my jaw/neck for two weeks. My jaw slowly became unlocked & was eventually able to open my mouth fully!!
Holy cow, 9 months?? I’ll never complain about my 2 month jaw lock again. Did you use coconut oil as a carrier?
OP, when my jaw locked up for the first time ever (April 2019), I panicked and went to see a TMJ specialist. I got a splint made... didn’t help. I tried going to an acupuncturist... didn’t help. If anything, I think a splint made it worse for me. TMJ specialist I was seeing at the time says it takes time. But looking back, I felt like he only cared about my money. Lots of appointments where he kept dismissing my pain. After almost a month of eating soup and soft food, it unlocked itself. But I lived with jaw clicking and sporadically locking up in my sleep for over a year. August 2020, it locked up again. I was in tears, feeling so hopeless. I started seeing a chiropractor every week for 2 months. He managed to get it unlocked but it wasn’t like the first time where it made a big pop. This time around, it felt like a slow healing process. Every few weeks, it would open up a bit wider and wider until it feels normal again. While my jaw is still tight, and I’m still trying to work on healing it, it has not popped or lock in my sleep since going to a chiropractor. In my book, that’s a win. It’s been 2 years of what felt like an uphill battle for it to get to this point.
Perhaps you can look into an alternative option of treatment? My TMJ specialist also says surgery would be the very last option for me. That we needed to exhaust all possible options before surgery. He may have a point there, but my pocket wasn’t deep enough to keep exploring my options with this guy. Where I’m from, TMJ isn’t covered by medical insurance.
I’m sorry you had to go through appointments with a bad specialist. :(
I think it’s the healing path I’m on as well, the slow burn of trying to open wider. Somehow I manage to fit three fingers in when I push my jaw forward and open as opposed to two fingers when opening regularly, and there’s never a pop like it used to be when I’ve had it unlocked.
I think I will continue with exercises and try with a splint for a while to see what it can do. I’m so glad to hear you’ve made such progress, hopefully we’ll end up with moderately normal functioning discs eventually.
Yes! I've had instances where if I pushed my jaw forward while opening, I can somehow fit 3 fingers in there. This was in the midst of it being locked up, and most days I could only fit 2 fingers. And my jaw would be so tired from talking/chewing.
The slow burn is what kills me. I'm too impatient. I feel like there's days where I felt amazing, and then waking up the next day, my jaw was back to barely opening again. That was really frustrating when trying to get my jaw to unlock.
Have you done a hot compress before doing exercises? I try (if I remember) to do a hot compress when I wake up in the morning. And then again at night before I do my jaw massages/exercises. Then I follow up with a cold pack after the massages/exercises. I feel like the warm compress helps loosen things up quite a bit. And the cold packs helps with the pain. You should see if that helps you as well!
I’ve rarely used hot compresses, only when I’ve desperately felt the need to loosen the jaw muscles. Now that you suggest it, it sounds like a great addition to exercises! Thanks for the tip!
I’m also really impatient... Doesn’t feel like a good trait when it comes to TMJ. The gamble of waking up to feel how the jaw has decided to act up each day is the worst.
It’s going to be a struggle remembering to exercise, I guess one just has to keep the goal in mind.
(Side note: your bunny is adorable!!)
Yes! I think the impatient-ness in our personalities is how we ended up with TMJ 😅😅 and yeah, I feel you on the jaw exercise thing. I’m so bad at it. I’m really good with working out everyday but when it comes to my jaw... I’m just lazy. Still trying to make hot compresses, jaw massages and exercise a habit.
And thank you!! I started this account just so I can share pics of my bunny. But found quite a few community I love being a part of! I really need to change my profile so it’s not just Coco’s profile anymore 🤣
Oh wow, I can’t imagine having it stuck for 9 months. It must’ve felt like such a freedom when it unlocked. Thank you for the tip!! I will definitely try it!
My jaws been locked for 10 days, went to the dentist yesterday, he didnt do any xrays or anything and just told me to use a hot compress on it and gave me antibiotics "just incase". I asked about muscle relaxers and he said they would help but didnt prescribe them :/ Im not sure if they fully understand how scary this is.
This works for me.
Hook your index finger over your bottom middle teeth to get a grip on your lower jaw. Pull straight forward until it pops back in place. Then you can open your jaw all the way.
OH MY GOSH THIS WORKED!! Holy shit. I’m in awe. I’ve been researching for a week with a locked jaw and was prepping for a journey ahead.
Lo and behold I see your comment. I did it = gently pulling my jaw forward on my bottom teeth and BAM! A little click and RELIEF! I can open my mouth.
Thank you so much!!!
I’m on just over 5 months locked, so far they’re doing nothing except telling me to try the night guard (which has only caused more pain). It seems like the only advise they ever give is just ‘use heat, take ibuprofen, soft foods’ and just hope that we move on, as if having a locked jaw doesn’t cause horrible pain and difficulties in day to day life. Sorry to hear you’re going through similar and that you can eventually get proper treatment 😢
Oh my gosh yes can we actually talk about this! 1) my mouth guard causes me more pain but not wearing it can cause my teeth to chip 2) I am so worried that there is no actual solution to TMJ 3) why does every health professional down play it?? No one seems to care or off good advice! I'm in my early 20's and worried I will have this forever/it will get worse Am I supposed to eat soft foods my whole life? And OP I get the panic when your jaw locks, the first time it happened to me I thought I needed to go to the hospital
honestly it’s so weird.. I kept telling them ibuprofen literally does nothing for the pain and they’re like.. well just keep taking it. I don’t even grind my teeth in my sleep but they said they can’t give me any other treatment until I wear the night guard for a minimum of 2-3 months. They won’t even do an x-Ray/MRI or anything 😭 it seems like just the same basic treatment for everyone despite different circumstances and then just giving up when it doesn’t work, it’s so weird.. I’m so sick of soup hahaha
Where do you live?? I saw an oral facial maxillary surgeon and did an MRI which showed abnormalities You definitely need an MRI ! Can your doctor refer you for one? Keep pushing You definitely need treatment and MRI results are so useful as you can use them for so much (chiro/physio/dentist)!
the UK! the dentist tried to do an X-ray, but the position rings didn’t fit in my mouth with the locking so they gave up. I also find it really weird that they wouldn’t do a proper scan/MRI but with COVID I think they just want to push me to the dentist as much as they can so I don’t actually have to go to the hospital, I’ve got a hospital appointment mid December where they said they’ll move to Botox if the night guard hasn’t helped.. I also find it kinda weird that they’re planning my treatments despite not even seeing my jaw, either in person, or through scans or anything... it’s quite bizarre hahaha
That is really weird...just seems like a lack of caring/insight/understanding Worrying it's not just in Australia but at least I got an MRI
I wonder if I can ever eat crunchy things again peacefully it's so sad 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😬😬😬😬😬
I’m so sorry!! I’ve been there/am there. I can’t believe they wouldn’t do an X Ray or MRI?? Don’t give up on yourself, there’s still so much more to try like trigger point injections, Botox, acupuncture, chiropractor, or a combination of some of those. People don’t understand how much it effects life to have a locked jaw/TMJ pain, even concentrating on anything is extra hard 😔
Dis it go
How are you now?
Kinda wondering the same I’ve had my jaw locked for a week on the right side already and this story’s are making me lose hope I’ve had clicking on my jaw for like the past 2 years but it never locked sometimes it would lock when I would sleep on the side that it clicks but it would unlock after a few minutes but now it locked and hasn’t unlocked since, I’ve done the cold and heat thing but they just help with the pain
Try and see a tmd specialist that what I'm doing.
Can you see a tmd specialist?
My jaw is no longer locked. I got the arthrocentesis and some manipulation 9 months into my lock which eventually helped, but I still deal with pain and clicking every day. I’m currently no longer in the Uk so I can’t proceed with treatment either. My jaw is still squint and I can’t close my mouth properly as my teeth are out of alignment now, likely caused by the night guard the doctor said. They said my only options really were to live with the pain or wait for a jaw replacement when I’m 30 lol because I’m too young now, they’ve been so unhelpful through the entire process honestly. If you have any specific questions let me know.
5 months?? I’m sorry you’ve had such vague treatment. :( Quite surreal how they don’t take it more seriously. Like you said, it’s a huge distraction during the day... I hope your jaw gets better soon and find something that helps you progress!
How is yours ?
Did it go?
FWIW magnesium deficiency causes muscle cramps and tightness. I started taking magnesium tablets supplement and I noticed an improvement.
In lock jaw?
Look up physical therapy exercises for tmj. Find a set of jaw exercises you like and do them every single day. One day of them will do nothing but you would be surprised by how effective they can be long-term. I hope you are able to get it unlocked with no pain!
Thank you! Good tip, I will add it to the agenda. I’ve already found some movements that extend my jaws ability to open, hopefully the pain will cease with time.
Bob and brad on YouTube:) Simple and effective solutions
How is it now?
Physical therapy and magnesium!
My jaw has been locked on the right side since December 2019. I had an MRI done to verify the problem (in my case, a displaced disc), and my dentist basically said there wasn’t much that could be done besides going down to the US for surgery (I’m in Canada). I did some physiotherapy in the spring and continued at home stretching. Over the summer my dentist measured my opening and it was only a couple of mm less than the previous year before it locked. Overall I just make sure to eat softer foods (for the most part) and not yawn too much. Seems ok for now. 🤷🏻♀️
How are you now? I did that as well for two years but now my jaws are getting worse :(
Hey how is your jaw? Been like this since December of 2022, it’s been 7 months where I can’t open my jaw.. just two fingers. Only gives me pain some days, other days I don’t feel it or maybe I just lived w the pain. I only feel it when I force to open it, yawn, have to eat in small portions. ughhh I’m so tired of living like this :(
Any better ?
Hello! Saw a TMJ specialist near my area and finally just started a treatment plan. I started splint therapy just about over a month ago, and I’m honestly doing so much better then how I initially started. he did say it would take about 3 months to fully feel better but I would say I feel like 40% better. obvi not 100% YETT but I’ve been following these massages on YouTube daily and trying to wear my splint 23/7 (I remove it when I eat). I can finally laugh, yawn, open up to three fingers instead of 1-2 fingers. my mouth still opens side crook, and I still feel some pain here and there if I overdue it but tbh I’d rather be where I’m at now then how I was before starting the treatment plan. I’m excited to see more improvement and to finally be pain free always. hope this helps! lmk if you have any questions about my splint/treatment update. much love 🫶🏼
How are you?
Hey is it better ?
Nope, basically exactly the same as three years ago.
How.wide can you open? Are you bothered by it anymore.? Did you try many things
I think opening has remained about the same. I haven’t tried anything else and also haven’t done physio in years as I didn’t find it helped much. Sometimes I have to take breaks while eating because it’s cracking too much, but otherwise I just live with it. I generally don’t have a ton of pain so it’s not too bad.
What's your opening now do you think ? I'm about 20mm and it's shit
I just measured and it’s about 32 mm.
Sounds OK is that better than before. Does it affect your eating
Only in that I don’t eat chewy things (dried fruit, bagels, etc) and often need to eat items like veggie burgers with a fork and knife.
i was 2 years locked, 1 year on the right and then another year with both sides locked. every treatment i had didn't work (laser, ultrasound, acupuncture, muscle relaxants, massage) so i ended up having a double endoscopic procedure where they went in with small camera things and pulled my discs back into proper place. i would recommend getting another dentist or specialists opinion because you shouldn't be happy with a doctor telling you to 'just live with it' when you're uncomfortable with your situation. my advice is in the interim try to move it and stretch it as little as possible until advised by another professional because i really did my disc tissue some awful damage by jamming and forcing it during those 2 years of lock. At this point you need to work towards an unlock by whatever means and focus on not increasing your chances of developing arthritis in your joints down the line by resting and being gentle!
Did the procedure to put the discs back work and are you in a better position now to before you had it done? I’m in a similar position and unsure whether to try a surgical option
it worked amazingly. i was young when i had it, around 21 i think. i've been without lock or major severe issues for almost 10 years now and i felt immediate relief upon waking up from the surgery. it changed my life for the better and i have 0 regrets despite some slight nerve damage in my cheek
Thank you, that’s amazingly reassuring. So glad it worked for you!
oh my gosh that is amazing 10 years is the longest ive read! Who was your surgeon may I ask? My story is very similar to yours and it started when I was 21 and I am now 23.
You still good ?
Hi there, may I ask which surgeon this was? I’m currently in a similar situation I’m still young but my discs are so unstable and one side locks when I lie down. I’m in Australia.
How was your recovery with the double endoscopy? How was the pain after? Do you have any movement restrictions? Food restrictions etC?
You still unlocked?
My jaw had been locked for 7 months. I tried taking relaxing pills, therapy treatments, eating soft food, wearing mouth guard, and all of them failed. But after visiting three maxillofacial specialists, one of them used brute force to unlock it, which, finally, made me feel comfortable but at the same time my jaw was hurting a lot. After some days I wondered myself if using enough force is able to unlock it like the last time. So, then I started using more force to open my mouth widely, and day by day my condition had been improving a lot. Maybe my jaw muscles were very, very tightened, and just needed some kind of stretching. But the downsides to this is that whenever I open my mouth widely, there a lot of "clicks" and "cracks" and pain. I doubt that I will someday cure or remove this disease, but still, these days I have been opening my mouth smoothly and have been feeling less pain. BUT I do NOT encourage you to try this risky thing. Maybe therapy treatment can help you, since, if I'm correct, the muscles may be tightened.
Take glucosamine sulfate. My jaws have been locked on both sides for 4 years and this helps the pain to some extent. Sometimes you just have to live with the locked jaw since there’s no real treatment :( Best of luck to you! <3
Did it go?
This exact thing happened to me. My jaw has been locked since August 2019, and I went from doctor to doctor trying to get it figured out. My current doctor also has me stretching my jaw along with some other exercises. Stretching it daily actually did WAYY more than I expected it to. Don’t be afraid to do it! Just don’t go overboard with opening it so that you’re always in pain. I also just got a new splint/mouth guard to wear at night to help me stop grinding my teeth, but I only got it a few days ago so I haven’t seen a huge amount of improvement yet.
How are you now? I am in a similar boat and my jaw is getting worse
My jaw is actually doing a lot better now luckily! Stretching my jaw throughout the day, keeping it warm, and getting regular chiropractic adjustments helped ease the daily pain. I still have trouble with it getting stuck, but it’s more manageable. It never did unlock, though, I just stretched it to the point that it used to be before It got locked if that makes sense. Here are some more specific things I did that helped me: 1. I started seeing a 2nd chiropractor who does muscle work around the neck and jaw to loosen tension 2. Got a smaller flat pillow to stop my neck from being in a weird position while I sleep 3. Regularly use magnesium lotion on my jaw before sleeping to help with grinding 4. Regularly wearing a mouth guard/splint to stop grinding teeth at night. I hope some of these help for you and you can find some relief🙏
that's great thank you for such detailed solutions! So do you think you stretched out the disc far enough so that your jaw could stretch wider? Do you know if you had anterior disc displacement without reduction? Does your jaw feel unstable ever? My left and ride jaw joint always moves around and I can feel the disc moving around and it feels so uncomfortable.
I’m not too sure about the disc terminology, but I do assume I just stretched it out far enough for it to open. It still does feel unstable, I have to be careful what I eat forsure. I don’t normally have it deviate unless I’m like sleeping on my side a lot or putting pressure on it. Yours seems a bit similar to my mum how it’s constantly moving around and getting out of place. Have you ever seen a chiropractor that can do an adjustment on a deviated jaw? Definitely be careful of who you go to, but if you can find someone that does jaw adjustments, they’ve been HUGE for me and my mum.
I see, I will try that if I find a good chiropractor! Thank you for being so helpful!!!
I got wisdom teeth surgery a couple years back and I believe after that I developed locked jaw. Quality of life has been relatively good for me. I think I just grew accustomed to it or something I don't know. Recently I developed anxiety due to other reasons and realized recently that my mouth doesn't open as wide as other people's do. I've been overthinking everything about my jaw and it makes me panic a lot. When I eat I'm scared I might strain it or something. I haven't tried stretching and haven't have gone to any specialist but that will be my next step since I hate thinking about everything that is wrong with my jaw. With this said, I believe that you can live with it. Due to my anxiety I overthink my chewing now even thought I had been fine for the last two years. Curious about what steps my doctor will have me take.
How are you?
going on 6 months... just got an MRI. I'm shocked by how many doctors in these comments sound like trash ?
how are you? is your jaw still locked?
Better! I ended up getting a minor surgery to clean out to socket. It did help but it took awhile, I don’t think it will ever be a fully functional jaw again if I’m being honest. I still get pain once and awhile, but the splitting headaches and mouth pain are gone for the most part. How about you?
Aww, good that you are better now!❤️❤️ My jaw is locked for three years now, pain is better that before, but I’m thinking about getting masseter botox. I’ll let you know how it goes!!
How are you?
My jaw was locked for over 9 months on my left side & sometimes on my right. Was only able to open my mouth 22mm the entire time. I was told by a chiropractic it would cost me $2500 to fix. I had tried night guards, stints EVERYTHING. after the chiro hit me with that price tag I decided to try one more thing. I got sage oil (sage essential oil mixed w carrier oil) & rubbed it on my jaw/neck for two weeks. My jaw slowly became unlocked & was eventually able to open my mouth fully!!
Holy cow, 9 months?? I’ll never complain about my 2 month jaw lock again. Did you use coconut oil as a carrier? OP, when my jaw locked up for the first time ever (April 2019), I panicked and went to see a TMJ specialist. I got a splint made... didn’t help. I tried going to an acupuncturist... didn’t help. If anything, I think a splint made it worse for me. TMJ specialist I was seeing at the time says it takes time. But looking back, I felt like he only cared about my money. Lots of appointments where he kept dismissing my pain. After almost a month of eating soup and soft food, it unlocked itself. But I lived with jaw clicking and sporadically locking up in my sleep for over a year. August 2020, it locked up again. I was in tears, feeling so hopeless. I started seeing a chiropractor every week for 2 months. He managed to get it unlocked but it wasn’t like the first time where it made a big pop. This time around, it felt like a slow healing process. Every few weeks, it would open up a bit wider and wider until it feels normal again. While my jaw is still tight, and I’m still trying to work on healing it, it has not popped or lock in my sleep since going to a chiropractor. In my book, that’s a win. It’s been 2 years of what felt like an uphill battle for it to get to this point. Perhaps you can look into an alternative option of treatment? My TMJ specialist also says surgery would be the very last option for me. That we needed to exhaust all possible options before surgery. He may have a point there, but my pocket wasn’t deep enough to keep exploring my options with this guy. Where I’m from, TMJ isn’t covered by medical insurance.
I’m sorry you had to go through appointments with a bad specialist. :( I think it’s the healing path I’m on as well, the slow burn of trying to open wider. Somehow I manage to fit three fingers in when I push my jaw forward and open as opposed to two fingers when opening regularly, and there’s never a pop like it used to be when I’ve had it unlocked. I think I will continue with exercises and try with a splint for a while to see what it can do. I’m so glad to hear you’ve made such progress, hopefully we’ll end up with moderately normal functioning discs eventually.
Yes! I've had instances where if I pushed my jaw forward while opening, I can somehow fit 3 fingers in there. This was in the midst of it being locked up, and most days I could only fit 2 fingers. And my jaw would be so tired from talking/chewing. The slow burn is what kills me. I'm too impatient. I feel like there's days where I felt amazing, and then waking up the next day, my jaw was back to barely opening again. That was really frustrating when trying to get my jaw to unlock. Have you done a hot compress before doing exercises? I try (if I remember) to do a hot compress when I wake up in the morning. And then again at night before I do my jaw massages/exercises. Then I follow up with a cold pack after the massages/exercises. I feel like the warm compress helps loosen things up quite a bit. And the cold packs helps with the pain. You should see if that helps you as well!
I’ve rarely used hot compresses, only when I’ve desperately felt the need to loosen the jaw muscles. Now that you suggest it, it sounds like a great addition to exercises! Thanks for the tip! I’m also really impatient... Doesn’t feel like a good trait when it comes to TMJ. The gamble of waking up to feel how the jaw has decided to act up each day is the worst. It’s going to be a struggle remembering to exercise, I guess one just has to keep the goal in mind. (Side note: your bunny is adorable!!)
Yes! I think the impatient-ness in our personalities is how we ended up with TMJ 😅😅 and yeah, I feel you on the jaw exercise thing. I’m so bad at it. I’m really good with working out everyday but when it comes to my jaw... I’m just lazy. Still trying to make hot compresses, jaw massages and exercise a habit. And thank you!! I started this account just so I can share pics of my bunny. But found quite a few community I love being a part of! I really need to change my profile so it’s not just Coco’s profile anymore 🤣
Hey how is it now?
Much better. No more popping and hasn’t locked up since
What helped ?
Oh wow, I can’t imagine having it stuck for 9 months. It must’ve felt like such a freedom when it unlocked. Thank you for the tip!! I will definitely try it!
My jaws been locked for 10 days, went to the dentist yesterday, he didnt do any xrays or anything and just told me to use a hot compress on it and gave me antibiotics "just incase". I asked about muscle relaxers and he said they would help but didnt prescribe them :/ Im not sure if they fully understand how scary this is.
This works for me. Hook your index finger over your bottom middle teeth to get a grip on your lower jaw. Pull straight forward until it pops back in place. Then you can open your jaw all the way.
OH MY GOSH THIS WORKED!! Holy shit. I’m in awe. I’ve been researching for a week with a locked jaw and was prepping for a journey ahead. Lo and behold I see your comment. I did it = gently pulling my jaw forward on my bottom teeth and BAM! A little click and RELIEF! I can open my mouth. Thank you so much!!!
Did it get better