TMJ Disorder: Jaw clicking after braces

[mother_sunshine]

My 14yo daughter had her braces removed about 9 months ago and, in the past 6 months or so, her jaw involuntarily makes a loud creepy clicking sound when she eats (and also on demand when she wants to creep me out). She had a small overbite corrected, and her orthodontist says her teeth are now perfectly lined up. He denies the braces are the reason for the problem, which he called temporomandibular joint disorder, and says is typical of girls her age who are under a lot of stress. But the problem came up after she got her braces off... So my question is, has anyone had this problem? Will it eventually go away on its own, as her orthodontist assures me?

[raksmama]

My jaw started clicking when I was 15 and we  went to a very expensive orthodontist who assured us that even though my teeth were straight my bite was incorrect. I wore a retainer for a few years and I did not think about it again. Since then all the dentists I saw assured me my bite was excellent. Fast forward almost 20 years my headaches whcih I'd started getting in my 20s were getting worse and I was having them almost daily. My shoulders hurt and my jaw was getting sore. I saw a "specialist" who said my TMJ had worn down so much that all could be done was surgery!

I'll spare you all the details but after trying lots of things and seeing lots of other so called specialists, I finally found another dentist( really a TMJ specialist this time) who finally determined that my TMJ was a body allignment problem and had nothing to do with my bite! He refered me to an Osteopath and I have been more or less pain free since and by treating my jaw the headaches and shoulder tension went away too.

TMJ dysfuction can be caused by a bad bite, a body allgnment problem (from hips not being level to,placement of the neck or many things), clenching, grinding basically a number of things.

The one thing I learned was not to always believe the first person I saw.

[mother_sunshine]

Thank you for sharing your experience, Jalilah. Whew, I hope I can help her avoid what you've had to go through. I wonder if it'd be worth taking her to a chiropractor? She cracks her neck and back in the worst ways, so an alignment issue makes sense...

[raksmama]

I personally prefer Osteopaths becasue I find them gentler and they don't crack however a good chiropractor should be able to help too. They could definitely tell if her hips are aligned or not. I know in the States( I am in Canada) it is often easier to find a chiropracter than an osteopath. Although  osteopathy originally comes from the States,it is now more widepread in Europe and Canada.
 

Originally Posted by mother_sunshine 

Thank you for sharing your experience, Jalilah. Whew, I hope I can help her avoid what you've had to go through. I wonder if it'd be worth taking her to a chiropractor? She cracks her neck and back in the worst ways, so an alignment issue makes sense...

[MarineWife]

i was diagnosed with TMJ a couple of years ago after my jaw started clicking. i don't know what caused mine. i've always had straight teeth and a perfect bite according to every dentist i've ever seen. i never had braces or a retainer. stress definitely exacerbates it. i got a mouth guard when i was diagnosed and overnight all the pain in my neck and upper back was gone. the clicking stopped a while later. i had to wear it day and night at first. but, i got a fungal infection on the corners of my mouth after using it. the dentist and orthodontist insist it's not caused by the guard but it goes away when i don't wear it and comes back within two days of wearing it again even when i've gone months without wearing it. i don't wear it anymore and the clicking and back/neck pain have come back.

chiropractors say they can treat it. that's my plan since i go to one occasionally for other things.

[mother_sunshine]

Thank you both!