Is TMJ, jaw clicking curable?

[MarkJames3]

Hi guys,

Since last summer I have had this clicking/crunching in my jaw when eating etc... its not painful, just more annoying.

I KNOW I clench my teeth pretty much all day long so must be doing it at night too which have more than likely caused these problems.

After reading on here and a few articles its seems that I may have mild TMJ... I would normally go to the dentist however my health anxiety all started 5 years ago with a trip to the dentist. I do have a check up in April, so was going to wait until then to mention it.

But I was just wondering if there are any measures I can put in place now to help or cure the problem?

I found this article:
http://www.wikihow.com/Cure-TMJ-with-Jaw-Exercises

I am just wondering if it is curable and what I can do? Would simply relieving my stress help or have I already done the damage?

Mark

[HoneyLove]

Without looking closely at your jaw, like a dentist or TMJ specialist would do, there's no way for us to know if you've done damage or if your TMJ is curable. If your jaw is clicking that much then it really would be wise to visit your dentist before it gets worse, don't let anxiety stop you or you may regret it in the future.

Stress and TMJ go hand in hand, in fact stress is known to be one of the major triggers of TMJ. So working on reducing your stress/anxiety levels will really help you and should be your first priority.

Any form of relaxation would also be helpful, so things like guided meditation or progressive muscle relaxation will help your jaw to relax. Anything that will make you relaxed and happy will help. Applying heat to your jaw can also help, you can buy microwavable heat packs from your local pharmacy.

It's important to be aware of your posture too, so don't spend hours looking down at your phone or tablet, sitting at your PC without getting up for regular breaks and be mindful of your sleeping position (don't sleep on your stomach).

Your dentist will usually reccommend TMJ exercises, but they might also fit you for a mouth guard which can help stop the clenching at night. Of course working on your anxiety levels may stop the night time clenching too.

[semper solus]

I had tmj and asked my doctor to refer me to a Maximo facial consultant. We went through want was happening like jaw cracking all the time and blocked ears. He decided to do explorety surgery. So I had key hole surgery. He cleaned the joints out an hey presto it worked. He told me that grinding my teeth was a big factor and gave me a mouth guard to wear at night and to do some exercises and of course keep away from tough food which would aggrivate it.