TMJ Tiff

New Treatments     Towards the end of June, I got braces and a RPE (Rapid Palatal Expander) inserted on the roof of my mouth in hopes to fix my cross bite, correct my bite (class II malocculusion), and relieve pressure on my jaw joints.  Treating TMJ with braces is very controversial, but I took a risk with the procedure because I've maxed out my options and do not want to get surgery due to the high failure rate.  Much of my troubles in July has been attributed to the RPE.  The RPE is an appliance that widens my narrow palate and is cemented at the roof of my mouth.  It widens by breaking the palatal suture in your skull.  I made a rushed decision to get the RPE because around age 23, the sutures in your skull start to fuse, making it impossible to break with an RPE.  Breaking a fused palatal suture would require a painful surgery that could go wrong.  The RPE expands by inserting a key in the appliance and turning it. This is the upper jaw viewed from underneath. You ca

http://www.tmj.org/site/ http://tmj.org/site/content/help-yourself-first-remember-less-best Help Yourself First - REMEMBER Less is Best! Feb 11, 2011 Often jaw problems resolve on their own in several weeks to months. If you have recently experienced TMJ pain and/or dysfunction, you may find relief with some or all of the following therapies: Moist Heat: Moist heat from a heat pack or a hot water bottle wrapped in a warm, moist towel can improve function and reduce pain. Be careful to avoid burning yourself when using heat. Ice: Ice packs can decrease inflammation and also numb pain and promote healing. Do not place an ice pack directly on your skin. Keep the pack wrapped in a clean cloth while you are using it. Do not use an ice pack for more than 10 - 15 minutes. Soft Diet: Soft or blended foods allow the jaw to rest temporarily. Remember to avoid hard, crunchy, and chewy foods. Do not str

Hello errbody! I haven't been blogging the past few weeks because I've been very busy wrapping up the quarter. I will start on the ergonomics post & my TMJ friendly cooking video in late June...so please stay tuned!  I felt compelled to take some time to make a quick post in the midst of a hectic finals week (I'm making up 2 quarters worth of work due to being ill) because I was very touched by something I read. Last night & this morning I tried cramming 100 years worth of Iranian/Iraqi/US conflict in my head ...felt cracked out on Urth's Caffe's Spanish latte @_@...& my muscle spasms did not make the situation any better. I cursed a lot in my head while I was racing the clock...panicked a bit....laid on my bed to take a break... and checked my twitter. Michelle Branch (my idol!) re-tweeted Sara Bareilles tweet about helping Alice complete her bucket list . I clicked on the link and it led me to Alice's blog http://alicepyne.blogspot.com/ &

One of the most common symptoms of depression and anxiety is having insomnia or oversleeping.  I remember the height of my sleep disturbances was last year. I would not be able to sleep till 6 AM and would lay in my bed for hours feeling tense and worrying about what I had to get done the next day.  I felt like my head was running 100 mph.  When I could not fall asleep, I would sometimes go online and become fixated with online shopping/browsing or refreshing TMZ.com every 5 minutes (even though there were no updates).  When I could finally fall asleep, I would have horrible nightmares and wake up extremely tense.  I would wake up to a puddle of drool on my pillow, an inflamed jaw, sore neck, itchy throat, and headache because I only got in 4-5 hours of sleep.  Going to my morning class was a drag because I could not pay attention with my pain & lack of sleep.  There were many days where I would even skip class and actually sleep till 3 PM.  Where did my day go?  On top of being be

Growing up, I had no understanding about issues of health care.  For 19 years of my life I was making visits to the doctor for the typical illnesses...a cold, fever, and the flu for only a $20 co-pay. I never questioned what co-pay meant.  I just thought everything was $20 and medicine would always be around $5-$10.  I thought it was affordable for everyone. Occasionally I would get a blood test and the only medication I really needed was DayQuil and Amoxicillin, but in the fall of 2007 things started to change. I've been battling a chronic pain disorder called TMJ for almost 4 years.  I experience pain in the form of muscle spasms on my scalp, half of my face, mouth, and back.  I always seem to have pressure and swelling in my ear and jaw joint, and my teeth ache.  I would describe my arthritic pain in my jaw as a dull aching pain .  My equilibrium feels off and it has really compromised my ability to focus and have a normal life.  I went from $20 co-pays to $400 consultations fr