I have TMJ / TMD, or temporomandibular joint disorder.....Its really painful, how should I treat it?

Question

Should I go to my dentist and will my insurance cover it? Is it considered dental or health?

Its very painful to chew or eat....Help....!

I have never been officially diagnosed with it....But I have researched it and it seems like this is the condition I have.....Its a recent condition, so I guess I should go see my dentist first....I will check with my policy and see if it is covered....

Answer 1

I have had that for many years. I feel for you!! You need to go to the dentist & have them fit you with a mouth guard to sleep in. There are different types. Surgery is (usually) a last resort.
The mouth guard will help prevent yor teeth from grinding. Sometimes we grind & don't even realize it! Especially in sleep! The mouth guard should help.
Physical therapy can help too.
Stress makes it MUCH worse, so TRY to relax as much as possible. I'm sure you know what helps you most to relax.

I recommend you do a search for TMJ/ (ENT's) in your state. If you don't have any, then you might just have to make a payment plan. TMJ can get very painful without any treatment. You MUST see a qualified dentist! You may need certain meds to help while the pain is so severe, such as muscle relaxers.
Take Ibuprophen alternating with Acetaminophen until then, as directed.

TMJ is usually NOT covered in insurance. (My dentist) specialized in TMJ, but I went to a Ear Nose & Throat specialist & they had a dentist on staff that was VERY good! The dentist I went to, was so great, he was able to use certain "codes" so that my insurance covered most of it. TMJ disorders are considered a medical condition and Georgia law is specific in that TMJ disorders can be filed under medical insurance, I'm not sure what your laws are in your state though. Check it out!

If your state considers it a medical condition, that will really help! Many dentists aren't even aware this can be considered a medical disorder...so you might have to do a bit of research for where you live about that part.
Feel better soon & RELAX as much as possible.

Answer 2

Okay -
This is covered by both medical and dental.
You need to visit both.
IF your teeth are misaligned sometimes wearing braces will help the problem.
If your jaws are mis sized for each other (one is larger than other) than nothing can be done.
If a surgeon or a dentist offers to break your jaw, or such they are way out of date. That surgery does NOT work.

1. Avoid overopening your mouth
2. So cut up apples and other hard items so you don't jam/jerk your jaw as you bite.
3. Apply warm/hot clothes along the jaw line to relieve spasm in jaw muscles.
4. If you grind your teeth at night a night tooth guard (dental) will help make the TMJ better.
5. You can take anti-inflammatories to decrease the chronic pain in the jaw.
6. Avoid clenching teeth.

Answer 3

What did the dentist say about treating your TMJ when he diagnosed it? Certainly he would have told you what treatment is available for your particular case when he diagnosed you. If you have not been officially diagnosed with TMJ then the first thing you need to do is see the doctor and the dentist for a proper diagnosis. As for insurance covering treatment...........you need to check your policy to see what is covered for dental and what isn't. If you are not sure then ask your human resources person at work.

Answer 4

TMJ is not covered on either medical or dental insurance. The dentist provided my daughter with a mouthpiece that she wears at night to help put her jaw in a better position, and she says it has helped a lot in making the pain go away. It cost about $400, and the dentist custom fit it to her mouth. See your dentist and see what he can do, was the best $400 I spent for my daughter.

Answer 5

7 years ago I've been involved in a car wreck and even since suffered with severe on and off facial and jaw pain. I've tried almost everything western medicine had to offer and had visited countless of specialist, had done ct scans, and therapies but to no avail. The doctors I have been to had persisted that there wasn't anything wrong with me and that almost drove me crazy as I was going through hell from this condition. According to all my symptoms I was diagnosed by a holistic doctor as having TMJ and he had recommended this book to me. After following the recommendation in the book for several weeks, it had changed my life. I got immediate relief after following the unique set of exercises in the book and after 2 weeks the jaw and face pain had completely gone. I only wish I would have ordered this program years ago. It would have saved me a lot of pain and anguish.

Answer 6

Don't ever take the sleeping pills route!!

1. They will damage your liver big time and you can get into serious health problems.

2. You will get hooked up on them and you won't be able to have a normal life any more if you don't take your pills everyday.

The sleeping pills industry is damaging our health by capitalizing on our ignorance, and by distracting people from effective and natural ways to deal with this problem. I had been taking prescription sleep medications [Ambien] for over 5 years. It stopped working and I simply took more. Still did not work. Nights were very difficult - medication put me to sleep but I would wake up after 2–3 hours with a strong sympathetic response (fast pulse, pounding heartbeat, wide awake alert). It was a very difficult cycle to break. I was really in bad shape due to lack of sleep.

After years of struggling I was able to cure my insomnia naturally and pretty fast. I followed the Sleep Tracks sleep optimization program, here is their official web -site if you want to take a look: http://www.insomniacure.net

Ohhh..and Good Luck!

Answer 7

I have never been diagnosed with TMJ, but I have jaw and teeth pain. I have it treated with physical therapy, cranio-sacral therapy and acupuncture. It is improving. It goes with the pain in my upper back, neck head, sinuses, eye sockets and face problems though and I hope you don't have all that!

Answer 8

TMJ is considered dental, so unless you have realllly good health insurance they wont cover it (im on medicare and state insurance and they wont fix it).
they wanted to break my jaw and physically move it around but alas, i couldnt afford that so my migranes will always be with me :/

Answer 9

My medical doctor has been treating me for mine, however there are dentist that specialize in it too, I suppose it depends on the ins and the doc you go to..

Good Luck on your searching for answers