I am 32, and have had TMJ symptoms for more than 10 years. Before braces, my jaw was stiff- sometimes I had to work it to be able to open it enough to eat and after braces, it hurts – a lot. The intensity comes and goes and gets worse with stress, and my allergy symptoms. I have pain that radiates into my ear, neck, head; all on the left side. I have struggled with dizziness for nearly 2 years. I wear a retainer at night to keep my teeth straight, but I have had a constant headache for 4 days even with painkillers, which usually work. Chiropractic care used to work, but the last few months the muscles are so inflamed it will not allow the adjustment.

My boyfriend was just diagnosed with TMJ. I have rheumatoid arthritis; I work at a hospital and an urgent care clinic so I had heard of this but not real familiar. His pain came on all of the sudden and he swore that either his upper wisdom teeth were coming in or that he had some type of tooth decay/infection. I took him to the dentist despite the fact he only has medical insurance and no dental insurance. This is how sure he was that it was a tooth. The dentist did 2 x-rays and tapped, poked, and prodded every tooth in his mouth. The dentist suggested he may have a severe sinus infection or ear infection and insisted we go to a doctor right away. We went straight to the urgent care clinic who then diagnosed him with TMJ. So I was shocked when I did research on TMJ and found that a lot of patients were diagnosed by their dentist. Needless to say we both have our fingers crossed that the prescriptions he got work and quickly.

- Jaw Pain (intense) - Jaw Pain (dull, constant) - Ear Pain (stabbing, random) - Face Pain - Eye Pain - Extreme pain while eating, talking, yawning, lying down or being reclined on back - Cannot open mouth much

I had serious pain from TMJ after series of long dental treatment. I had to keep my mouth open for a long period of time under quite a bit of stress during visits to dentist. I thought I would rather die than going through the incredible pain in my head. In the mean time, I got one root canal, one tooth extracted for an implant. Who knows whether all these were necessary… After all the dental work was done, I went to an acupuncture doctor. It was like a miracle. Anyone who is suffering from TMJ should try acupuncture. You would not believe. I got it yesterday and I feel like a new person. Please do not suffer. I know what the pain is like. He put about seven or eight needles around my ear and neck on the side I had problem and one on between my thumb and index finger for about half an hour. I will go for another treatment and that's all I need.

I have been suffering with jaw pain for a little over a month. I am taking Voltaren as well as Tylenol. Everything has been getting better but today, I have been in immense pain all day. I took twice the recommended dose of all of my medicine but it still took the pain almost 8 hours to subside. I am going to try a warm compress now and call my doctor again on Monday. I cannot take another day of this.

I am 55 years old female and have been living with TMJ since I was in my 20's. I was in a car wreck in 1972 and was not wearing a seat belt. Started having back pain but could not find anything then. Then I hit the 80's and I started to have all kinds of pain. The one that has been the most painful is my TMJ. I was chewing gum and my jaw went into a spasm. Then I would get where I could not open my mouth. Also I would have migraine headaches almost every day. My dentist sent me to a doctor who specialized in TMJ and he started working on my problem. Wore out 3 mouth guards and was still in pain. Sent me to an orthodontist who said I had the worst case of TMJ he had ever seen. We talked about me having my jaws broken 1 at a time and wired back till healed, but could not promise me that it would help. So my TMJ doctor, orthodontist, and oral surgeon after my husband and I suggested pulling my teeth and making me dentures to fix the problem finally decided that would be the least painful for me and it helped for 15 years, but my dentures wore and now I am going through the pain and spasm and clicking I went through the first time. I am now wearing an orthotic right now and hope to get some teeth that will help my problem again. I am thankful that I found my TMJ doctor because I was having so much pain in my face, neck, and back and they were related. He helped me understand what was happening to me.

I had pain in my left ear and jaw that came from grinding my teeth while sleeping, which led to headaches during my waking hours. My dentist noticed the wear patterns during an annual checkup and suggested a night mouth guard for my uppers. When I use the night mouth guard, the TMJ symptoms go away, but it is a bit cumbersome and not very romantic for my wife. As long as I stick with the program, I'm fine. When I stop, the symptoms return within a week.