# Strange jaw alignment problem--who to see? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 10, 2014, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-jaw-alignment-problem-who-to-see/704246 "2014-11-10T15:54:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2014, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-jaw-alignment-problem-who-to-see/704246/1 "2014-11-10T15:54:46Z")
I had a strange problem crop up last week and am considering checking in with a doctor but I can’t figure out if I should see my internist, a dentist, or some kind of jaw specialist (what do you call a jaw specialist?). Several days ago I developed a minor soreness on the left side of my jaw muscle right at the pivot point. It didn’t bother me much. But then Thursday morning I woke up and suddenly my bite doesn’t match up. My lower jaw seems suddenly a couple of mm farther out, and I cannot comfortably bite all the way down (a couple of mm seems like a pretty big distance to my teeth). It’s as if my whole lower jaw moved forward overnight. Still bothering me today. I have no history of teeth grinding or TMJ or other jaw-related problems. I have no new unusual sources of stress. I have had no trauma to the jaw. What could be going on and what kind of doctor deals with this? ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2014, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-jaw-alignment-problem-who-to-see/704246/2 "2014-11-10T16:02:46Z")
Well, sometimes the joint can go out of whack. Seeing a dentist would be a good first step here. If this is a one-time thing, be skeptical if the dentist suggests doing a bunch of stuff to your teeth. Some do that. Meanwhile…I’d suggest heat and cold on the affected side, and NSAIDS (Aleve or Advil). And a soft diet. ---
**Author:** ![rsat3acr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@rsat3acr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsat3acr)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2014, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-jaw-alignment-problem-who-to-see/704246/3 "2014-11-10T16:03:00Z")
A dentist or oral surgeon that deals with TMJ issues. Not all do. I am a general dentist and do not. Call your regular dentist and ask who they refer to. Does sound like something happened to the joint. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2014, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-jaw-alignment-problem-who-to-see/704246/4 "2014-11-10T16:30:33Z")
I agree with **rsat3acr**. I’m not a dentist, but a TMJD patient who was lucky enough to have a great dentist who could say “I don’t study TMJD but I know a great local oral surgeon who does.” ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2014, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-jaw-alignment-problem-who-to-see/704246/5 "2014-11-11T01:46:23Z")
Thanks to all. I have an appt with my dentist. More news as it happens. ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2014, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-jaw-alignment-problem-who-to-see/704246/6 "2014-11-11T03:00:12Z")
Yeah the first stop is dentist as original cause may well be in the teeth… perhaps a wisdom tooth issue ? ---
**Author:** ![Q.N.Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/3da27b/32.png) [@Q.N.Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.N.Jones)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2014, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-jaw-alignment-problem-who-to-see/704246/7 "2014-11-11T03:10:34Z")
Sounds like TMJ. This is how it started for me. First, I recommend that you start taking NSAIDs on a regular schedule. A week of round-the-clock NSAIDs cleared up a lot of my symptoms…but none of my doctors told me that until I got into the clinic at my dental college that has a grant-funded TMJ clinic. It took a year on the waiting list to get in…and my regular doctor and dentist recommended nothing useful to alleviate my suffering in the meantime. If it is swelling in the jaw joint, the anti-inflammatory properties of NSAIDs can help clear it up. I advise you to be wary of your dentist. Mine told me there was “nothing to be done” except to grind down and cap all my teeth so that my bite would meet again. This was patently untrue, but the dentist would have made a lot of money doing it. I recommend the following: –Find out if there is a dental college nearby with a TMJ clinic. This is where I got the best (and cheapest) treatment and advice. –Google for a TMJ specialist in your area. For me, a combination of NSAIDs, muscle relaxers, a splint to wear at night, and acupuncture cleared up most of my symptoms. ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2014, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-jaw-alignment-problem-who-to-see/704246/8 "2014-11-11T03:17:53Z")
> [@Q.N.Jones](#): > > Sounds like TMJ. This is how it started for me. > > First, I recommend that you start taking NSAIDs on a regular schedule. A week of round-the-clock NSAIDs cleared up a lot of my symptoms…but none of my doctors told me that until I got into the clinic at my dental college that has a grant-funded TMJ clinic. It took a year on the waiting list to get in…and my regular doctor and dentist recommended nothing useful to alleviate my suffering in the meantime. If it is swelling in the jaw joint, the anti-inflammatory properties of NSAIDs can help clear it up. > > I advise you to be wary of your dentist. Mine told me there was “nothing to be done” except to grind down and cap all my teeth so that my bite would meet again. This was patently untrue, but the dentist would have made a lot of money doing it. > > I recommend the following: > > –Find out if there is a dental college nearby with a TMJ clinic. This is where I got the best (and cheapest) treatment and advice. > > –Google for a TMJ specialist in your area. > > For me, a combination of NSAIDs, muscle relaxers, a splint to wear at night, and acupuncture cleared up most of my symptoms. The TMJ “expert” was the one who advocated major work – braces, and I have perfectly straight teeth – so be careful there as well. I’m a fan of going with the least-invasive treatment first. NSAIDs, muscle relaxants, and a dental splint (or night guard) worked nicely for me as well. ---
**Author:** ![justanothermike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c2a13f/32.png) [@justanothermike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/justanothermike)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2014, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-jaw-alignment-problem-who-to-see/704246/9 "2014-11-13T03:33:51Z")
> [@GrumpyBunny](#): > > The TMJ “expert” was the one who advocated major work – braces, and I have perfectly straight teeth – so be careful there as well. > > I’m a fan of going with the least-invasive treatment first. NSAIDs, muscle relaxants, and a dental splint (or night guard) worked nicely for me as well. I battled TMJ for many, many years, and all of the jaw clicking and migraines that came along with it. It was terrible, and I eventually had the money to go to a TMJ specialist that created a splint for me and worked my jaw back into place by adjusting that splint week by week for a period of time. It was amazing the difference that it made, and it wasn’t crazy expensive (no dental insurance here). They also had a physical therapist on staff to help with some things and a psychologist or some sort of therapist because a lot of jaw problems are caused by stress and the muscle tension takes a toll on the jaw. As for the comment above about advocating dental work, the reality as it was explained to me is that if you’ve had TMJ issues for most of your life your teeth grew in according to that jaw position which was out of whack. So, when your jaw is properly aligned, you may find that even your perfectly straight teeth don’t meet up right. It happened to me. Mine are maybe not perfectly straight but quite straight, and now that my jaw is in alignment my teeth don’t meet quite right. Then again, I guess they never really did. Maybe you just had a jerk that was trying to bilk you out of money, but that certainly wouldn’t mean that all TMJ experts would do so. To suggest such wouldn’t be a fair conclusion. I don’t know what happened to the OP, but if this is an issue that persists, go see a TMJ doc and see what they say. My experience was amazing. Like the quoted poster above said though, something to reduce inflammation might just do the trick if this is just a random occurrence. Hopefully that’s all it is. ---
**Author:** ![DooWahDiddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9bcb4/32.png) [@DooWahDiddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DooWahDiddy)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2014, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-jaw-alignment-problem-who-to-see/704246/10 "2014-11-13T03:46:33Z")
I recently posted [something similar](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=739869). My condition is improving, as I do think it was a sinus infection, but man was it painful and lasted a few weeks. Maybe something similar is happening to you? ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2014, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-jaw-alignment-problem-who-to-see/704246/11 "2014-11-13T04:11:43Z")
> [@justanothermike](#): > > As for the comment above about advocating dental work, the reality as it was explained to me is that if you’ve had TMJ issues for most of your life your teeth grew in according to that jaw position which was out of whack. So, when your jaw is properly aligned, you may find that even your perfectly straight teeth don’t meet up right. It happened to me. Mine are maybe not perfectly straight but quite straight, and now that my jaw is in alignment my teeth don’t meet quite right. Then again, I guess they never really did. Maybe you just had a jerk that was trying to bilk you out of money, but that certainly wouldn’t mean that all TMJ experts would do so. To suggest such wouldn’t be a fair conclusion. Yeah I had braces twice to treat TMJD. Once when I was 18 and first had the problem and again when I was 26 and the teeth shifted out of whack the other direction. FUN FUN FUN. But my TMJ specialist sure did make me feel better. Before I got braces the first time I just spent all my time lying on the floor, when not smoking weed. Braces aren’t just for crooked teeth, **GrumpyBunny**. They are a legitimate step in the treatment of TMJD. Usually before and after that there are retainers and appliances. For life. And maybe more braces some day. TMJD doesn’t get cured, just treated. So if you think you got bilked by a dentist who sold you braces perhaps you need to go for further treatment. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2014, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-jaw-alignment-problem-who-to-see/704246/12 "2014-11-13T08:25:24Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > (what do you call a jaw specialist?). A stomatologist. But using Wikipedia to verify the English name, I see that the speciality doesn’t seem to exist anymore in the USA, _“these concerns [being] now largely handled by dentists.”_ Still exists over here (hence why I knew the name). ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2014, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-jaw-alignment-problem-who-to-see/704246/13 "2014-11-14T23:16:02Z")
I saw my dentist yesterday and she said the first step in cases like this is the most conservative one, which is teeth guards, so she took impressions to order them. Coincidentally I had started taking Ibuprofen the day before this happened for inflammation in my shoulder (OTC dosage, about 6-8 pills 200mg each per day) and have been doing that daily since. I have also been using a warm compress when I think about it. Nothing has changed in a week. I have no significant discomfort in my jaw muscles except when I eat due to the chewing action trying to force the bite back into position. It’s not like I’m walking around in pain all day. It’s just that overnight my bite suddenly doesn’t line up.