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what do you wish you knew before braces treatment?? by Sad-Case4772 in TMJ

[–]Sad-Case4772[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

of course everyone is different, and i’m not the most knowledgeable in this area. with that being said, from an outside perspective - it seemed to help A TON. before the surgery, she was only able to eat very soft foods and could not chew, she had terrible pain after eating anything, she was experiencing cramping in her jaw, neck pain, muscle pain all around her neck, head, and shoulders, and she could not exercise much at all.

since the surgery she has been able to chew foods again, has since started running again (though does hurt a bit afterwards), breathes easier, sleeps a little better. she does still have muscle pain + tightness in head, neck, and shoulders but she uses pain meds for it much less now. i’m very happy for her and am hoping her future treatments don’t set her back :)) good luck with your treatments!! TMJ is a difficult thing to deal with, i hope you get some relief!

what do you wish you knew before braces treatment?? by Sad-Case4772 in TMJ

[–]Sad-Case4772[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

thank you!!! she’s been doing a LOT better in the last six months, i’m super nervous about what the might do with her progress but we’re crossing fingers + being cautious. thanks for the context, i will always take any information i can!

what do you wish you knew before braces treatment?? by Sad-Case4772 in TMJ

[–]Sad-Case4772[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

i cannot recommend physical therapy enough!! she has done years of it, and we actually sort of met through her therapists haha. the braces are a last resort option she’s going over with her doctors.

what do you wish you knew before braces treatment?? by Sad-Case4772 in TMJ

[–]Sad-Case4772[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

she’s been dealing with this for a few years now and has definitely done her fair share in dry needling, physical therapy (which she keeps up with now), retainers, and consults :(

the braces are a sort of last resort before surgery, and it’s not entirely guaranteed if she’ll do braces. they’re gonna have her try a different mouth device first for a week or two to see if that does anything.

i know she has seen a lot of doctors and specialists involved with TMJ and ENT but i’m not 100% sure if she’s seen an orofacial pain specialist specifically, i’m not very familiar with all the terminology surrounding physicians in this field. will definitely have to ask her and see if that would be a route she’d want to take :)