Re: First timer, need advice and opinions,

[Guest guest]

Surgery may help your TMJ pain or it might increase it. It's hard

to say, but I can say that I have an arthritic TMJ and it's just

awful to deal with. It's possible that if I'd been able to have my

orthognathic surgery before the joint got so bad, things might be a

lot different for me now. As it is, I'm 26 and have undergone three

procdures directly on the joint to alleviate the pain. At some

point in my future, I will have to have open joint surgery to either

repair or remove the dislocated cartilage in my joint. The decision

on surgery is yours to make, but there could be some significant

benefits that would prevent serious problems before they happen.

> Hi there!

> Just joined this board and would greatly appreciate any

responses.

> My situation is, I am 25 with TMJ (pretty minor though and easily

> managable when it does flare up) and a slight open bite which I

have

> just recently acquired about 2 years ago, ortho says it's from my

> tougue thrust. The open bite is not really noticeable to anyone

but

> me. I am going to see a surgeon jsut to hear what he has to say

but

> probably wouldn't even seriuosly consider surgery for quite

awhile.

> Have any of you had these combined problems. My main concern is

that

> surgery would absolutely kill my TMJ, and I do not see the point

in

> doing this to myself if my mouth is a minor annoyance to me. If I

> stop the tongue thrust, will my open bite stop progressing? I

don't

> know, any advice from you all would make my day!! Take Care and

have

> a great weekend!

[Guest guest]

My take on all this is appreciably different from the one immediately

below.

Ultimately, though, you are the one who will have to decide what to

do.

The thing about TMJ troubles is that they have a nasty tendency to

get worse if left alone.

Of course, sometimes the surgery makes them worse, too. But many

times it helps. It surely helped me.

My surgeon told me, " I just hate to hear anybody trying to predict

the future, because we never know what's going to happen. "

In addition to considerations involving TMJ, you may have

considerations involving the actual health of the teeth and gums. In

my case, my bite was " destructive, " to quote my periodontist. I had

extensive pockets, which got way, way better once my bite was

balanced and functioning properly.

In addition, you may (or may not) be grinding and wearing down your

teeth.

Ask a lot of questions, listen carefully, then weigh the risks and

benefits for yourself.

Cammie

> Hi there!

> Just joined this board and would greatly appreciate any responses.

> My situation is, I am 25 with TMJ (pretty minor though and easily

> managable when it does flare up) and a slight open bite which I

have

> just recently acquired about 2 years ago, ortho says it's from my

> tougue thrust. The open bite is not really noticeable to anyone

but

> me. I am going to see a surgeon jsut to hear what he has to say

but

> probably wouldn't even seriuosly consider surgery for quite

awhile.

> Have any of you had these combined problems. My main concern is

that

> surgery would absolutely kill my TMJ, and I do not see the point in

> doing this to myself if my mouth is a minor annoyance to me. If I

> stop the tongue thrust, will my open bite stop progressing? I

don't

> know, any advice from you all would make my day!! Take Care and

have

> a great weekend!

[Guest guest]

My TMJ is, at the moment, managed and virtually pain-free.

Orthodontics have me stabalized. When I asked my OS if my surgery

was really necessary, considering I'm not currently in pain, the

answer was that you don't want to wait until AFTER you have serious

problems to start fixing things. Yes, possibly I'll live out the

rest of my life without another TMJ flareup. (Assuming I don't eat

anything I shouldn't, never blow up balloons, play wind

instruments ...) However, the likelihood of TMJ not flaring up is

minimal. I can prevent it with surgery, or I can let it go, get

arthritis, need replacement surgery down the road, and possibly not

enjoy the health I have now when these emergencies surgeries occur.

I have a friend who was afraid of surgery, so she let it go. After

a couple of decades of constant pain and restricted eating, she is

now in so much pain she almost can't function. Her jaw locks open

on a regular basis, and she has so much damage that things are no

longer as simple as they would have been. Now that she's mentally

ready for surgery (please, please, anyone, take the pain away!), her

husband is laid off and she has no insurance.

If your doctor says you need it, do it while you can and while

you're still young and healthy, and recovery will be relatively

uncomplicated. If you don't trust your doctor's opinion of your

need and your health, get more opinions. I've had two orthodontists

and a maxial-facial surgeon all insist this is best for me. I trust

their opinions.

Kris

> Hi there!

> Just joined this board and would greatly appreciate any

responses.

> My situation is, I am 25 with TMJ (pretty minor though and easily

> managable when it does flare up) and a slight open bite which I

have

> just recently acquired about 2 years ago, ortho says it's from my

> tougue thrust. The open bite is not really noticeable to anyone

but

> me. I am going to see a surgeon jsut to hear what he has to say

but

> probably wouldn't even seriuosly consider surgery for quite

awhile.

> Have any of you had these combined problems. My main concern is

that

> surgery would absolutely kill my TMJ, and I do not see the point

in

> doing this to myself if my mouth is a minor annoyance to me. If I

> stop the tongue thrust, will my open bite stop progressing? I

don't

> know, any advice from you all would make my day!! Take Care and

have

> a great weekend!

[Guest guest]

My take on all this is appreciably different from the one immediately

below.

Ultimately, though, you are the one who will have to decide what to

do.

The thing about TMJ troubles is that they have a nasty tendency to

get worse if left alone.

Of course, sometimes the surgery makes them worse, too. But many

times it helps. It surely helped me.

My surgeon told me, " I just hate to hear anybody trying to predict

the future, because we never know what's going to happen. "

In addition to considerations involving TMJ, you may have

considerations involving the actual health of the teeth and gums. In

my case, my bite was " destructive, " to quote my periodontist. I had

extensive pockets, which got way, way better once my bite was

balanced and functioning properly.

In addition, you may (or may not) be grinding and wearing down your

teeth.

Ask a lot of questions, listen carefully, then weigh the risks and

benefits for yourself.

Cammie

> Hi there!

> Just joined this board and would greatly appreciate any responses.

> My situation is, I am 25 with TMJ (pretty minor though and easily

> managable when it does flare up) and a slight open bite which I

have

> just recently acquired about 2 years ago, ortho says it's from my

> tougue thrust. The open bite is not really noticeable to anyone

but

> me. I am going to see a surgeon jsut to hear what he has to say

but

> probably wouldn't even seriuosly consider surgery for quite

awhile.

> Have any of you had these combined problems. My main concern is

that

> surgery would absolutely kill my TMJ, and I do not see the point in

> doing this to myself if my mouth is a minor annoyance to me. If I

> stop the tongue thrust, will my open bite stop progressing? I

don't

> know, any advice from you all would make my day!! Take Care and

have

> a great weekend!

[Guest guest]

Hi! I agree with here. There is no guarantee that your TMJ pain

will improve with orthognathic but most do get better. If you don't

do anything, it will most certainly get worse over time. If your

bite is just off by a little, you may be able to get by with just

wearing a splint to help the TMJ. Getting the tongue thrust stopped

will definitely help and may be all you need as well. If you're told

by the surgeons (and get several opinions so that you can make the

right decision for you) that you definitely do need surgery then it

would be better to do it sooner rather than later. I'm an extreme

case but I waited over 20 years (I'm 36 now) before I did anything

about my horrible open and overbite. By that time, the damage to the

joints was so bad that I also had to have bilateral joint

reconstuction. Your case doesn't sound anywhere near as bad as mine

was at your age so don't let my case scare you but you don't want to

let TMJ go untreated. That doesn't necessarily mean surgery because

there are a lot of nonsurgical treatments available. Good luck with

whatever you decide.

> > Hi there!

> > Just joined this board and would greatly appreciate any

> responses.

> > My situation is, I am 25 with TMJ (pretty minor though and

easily

> > managable when it does flare up) and a slight open bite which I

> have

> > just recently acquired about 2 years ago, ortho says it's from

my

> > tougue thrust. The open bite is not really noticeable to anyone

> but

> > me. I am going to see a surgeon jsut to hear what he has to say

> but

> > probably wouldn't even seriuosly consider surgery for quite

> awhile.

> > Have any of you had these combined problems. My main concern is

> that

> > surgery would absolutely kill my TMJ, and I do not see the point

> in

> > doing this to myself if my mouth is a minor annoyance to me. If

I

> > stop the tongue thrust, will my open bite stop progressing? I

> don't

> > know, any advice from you all would make my day!! Take Care and

> have

> > a great weekend!