TMJ

About a year ago I was having a lot of pain and headaches over my left eye and into my jaw but could not figure out what the problem was. I went to several doctors, including a ENT that put tubes in my ears because I always had ear fullness. Although the ear fullness did disappear from the tubes I still had pain in my jaw, temple and on the side of my head.  When I say pain I mean bad pain to the point where I would just lay on the couch on that side of my face because it hurt so bad. I used heating pads and ice packs and there was no relief.  Well one day I had a awful migraine and I decided to take myself to the ER. I got there and  explained everything and they did a cat scan of my sinus area and my head. The results came back and everything was normal. That left everyone puzzled so another doctor came in and she said that I could possibly have TMJ. Was is TMJ,  you ask???? ( read below)



Basically my jaw and joints are all messed up and that was the cause of the headaches and pain all over my face on the left side. My jaw does pop when I eat and it is rather loud at times but I never had any pain with it.  The ER doctor suggested that I visit a Orthodontist to see if they can help resolve the issue. I made the appointment and went in for a consultation to take pictures and all that fancy stuff. Come to find out my bite is way off and that causes me to constantly grind my teeth and clinch. ( which I never paid attention that I did this) I did not have braces as a kid and my teeth are straight but my bite is off in the back ( hence the reason i always grind my teeth because they don't match up) So he suggested that I get  invisalign to correct my bite and it will also act as a bite plate so I can't grind my teeth. I agreed to the invisalign,  got molds made for the aligners and waited 4 weeks for them to come in.

I got 23  aligners for my top and bottom teeth  and I wear each set for 2 weeks, 22 hours a day. I only take them out when I eat and I have to brush after each time I eat and before I put them back in. Hard work, but I can say that about 70% of that pain is gone and I am soo glad that I agreed to get them. I'm not happy about the cost of them but anything to not be in pain everyday.  Most of the time you can't see them but if you look close in pictures you can but I really don't care. see!!

I have 6 more months with these little friends and I will be soo happy when I don't have to wear them anymore. So if any of you ever embark on an adventure with invisalign then I can answer any and all questions....Maybe lol