M
Menopausal Magpie
Member
- Joined
- Dec 10, 2009
- Messages
- 52
So, this is a bit weird...
Been with my new (private) dentist (in the UK) for about 18 months now, and things have been going well. Had my bridge fitted, had a filling replaced, was concentrating on getting my gums into better health. Last saw my dentist in September, and she was pleased with the way things were going and couldn't see any issues. Saw the hygienist for a clean a few weeks ago, and that also went OK.
So...for the last couple of weeks my teeth on the left have been 'twingey' - I have one area on the top left where the gums are very receded, and it's normally sensitive there, but I've been told it's nothing to actually worry about if I keep up the cleaning, interdentals etc. Then my jaw itself was aching, on and off, and just felt very 'tense', and I've had earache now and again on the left too. Sometimes my mouth feels sore, and sometimes there's a 'burning' sort of pain up the lower jaw/cheek. And the jaw joint itself seems to be 'clicking', which it has in the past, a little, but more so now.
I looked online, and everything seems to suggest I might have TMJ issues. Oh, lovely.
I've been trying some online exercises I've found for TMJ, and they do sometimes help. Paracetamol (aka Tylenol, for US folks) helps a bit too (I would try ibuprofen, but I'm on Sertraline and I know they can interact, so probably not a good idea). Sometimes the pain's hardly noticeable, and it's never really intense, just sort of 'niggling'. I've been trying to relax my jaw and not eat anything especially chewy, and most of the time I can distract myself from it. There's no pain or bleeding when I actually brush or use the interdentals, which tends to suggest this isn't an actual issue with my teeth or gums (which I presume the hygienist would have noticed on my recent visit).
I read that TMJ is associated with teeth-grinding at night, but my husband doesn't think I do this (he says I snore, so he'd probably notice if I was grinding!). I have had a bad habit of picking the skin off my lower lip (please don't judge me...it's a nervous habit I've had for years, and I know it's gross), and I wonder if that's made me tense my jaw and led to this. I've been trying to stop myself from doing that, obviously.
Does anyone have any advice on what to do, aside from what's under TMJ in the A-Z advice on this site? Should I go back to my dentist for help, or try my NHS doctor? (I can only get to my dentist at weekends, and I suspect getting an appointment this side of Christmas could be tricky - and getting a face-to-face with an NHS GP at the moment is also pretty tricky, they're snowed under). Anyone else dealt successfully with this issue?
Been with my new (private) dentist (in the UK) for about 18 months now, and things have been going well. Had my bridge fitted, had a filling replaced, was concentrating on getting my gums into better health. Last saw my dentist in September, and she was pleased with the way things were going and couldn't see any issues. Saw the hygienist for a clean a few weeks ago, and that also went OK.
So...for the last couple of weeks my teeth on the left have been 'twingey' - I have one area on the top left where the gums are very receded, and it's normally sensitive there, but I've been told it's nothing to actually worry about if I keep up the cleaning, interdentals etc. Then my jaw itself was aching, on and off, and just felt very 'tense', and I've had earache now and again on the left too. Sometimes my mouth feels sore, and sometimes there's a 'burning' sort of pain up the lower jaw/cheek. And the jaw joint itself seems to be 'clicking', which it has in the past, a little, but more so now.
I looked online, and everything seems to suggest I might have TMJ issues. Oh, lovely.
I've been trying some online exercises I've found for TMJ, and they do sometimes help. Paracetamol (aka Tylenol, for US folks) helps a bit too (I would try ibuprofen, but I'm on Sertraline and I know they can interact, so probably not a good idea). Sometimes the pain's hardly noticeable, and it's never really intense, just sort of 'niggling'. I've been trying to relax my jaw and not eat anything especially chewy, and most of the time I can distract myself from it. There's no pain or bleeding when I actually brush or use the interdentals, which tends to suggest this isn't an actual issue with my teeth or gums (which I presume the hygienist would have noticed on my recent visit).
I read that TMJ is associated with teeth-grinding at night, but my husband doesn't think I do this (he says I snore, so he'd probably notice if I was grinding!). I have had a bad habit of picking the skin off my lower lip (please don't judge me...it's a nervous habit I've had for years, and I know it's gross), and I wonder if that's made me tense my jaw and led to this. I've been trying to stop myself from doing that, obviously.
Does anyone have any advice on what to do, aside from what's under TMJ in the A-Z advice on this site? Should I go back to my dentist for help, or try my NHS doctor? (I can only get to my dentist at weekends, and I suspect getting an appointment this side of Christmas could be tricky - and getting a face-to-face with an NHS GP at the moment is also pretty tricky, they're snowed under). Anyone else dealt successfully with this issue?