I have had an issue with my jaw clicking and sometimes locking up ever since I can remember . About 2016 it I experienced extreme pain in my right jaw and it felt like my jaw was becoming unhinged with a lot of clicking and scraping. The issue cleared up with no doctors visit. My dentist suggested massage and warm compress and referred me to a TMJ Specialist, whom I never visited. Fast forward to present day, I had another episode of extreme pain and the feeling of a very unstable right side jaw hinge, last night. I am applying heat and massage to alleviate the pain. My jaw seems to have realigned itself such that my severe over bite has been minimized and I no longer am able create the clicking sound when I move my jaw. My right jaw feels tight at the hinge and eating a bagel was very painful. Just looking for some ideas on how to handle this while I try to book an appointment with a TMJ Specialist. Last time I attempted this it was like a 3 month wait for an appointment. Any feedback is welcome.
UPDATE:
Well it’s been about 4 weeks since my initial post and my jaw pain has improved significantly. I treated it with heat, massage and I purchased a “chin strap” to stabilize my jaw at night. The chin strap was the best thing I could do for this problem. It allowed me to hold the heat gel pack in place and provided the needed support for my jaw while it was healing. Without the chin strap, my jaw felt like it was literally coming unhinged, with lots of painful, involuntary movement just due to gravity. I still have some soreness when I open wide, but the jaw is stable and feels like the muscles in my jaw have regained their strength. My jaw in fact seems to be better now then before this episode started. My teeth alignment is better and I don’t have the “clicking” when I move my jaw from side to side. Go figure?