Just found this site. I've had problems with my TMJ since 2003 when I had to have three different surgeries to fix my right side. At the time I was told the disc that forms the cushion between the upper and lower jaw was displaced. The result was that I could not open my jaw more then 10cm. At the time I was living in MN going to college, but after finding NO one who could tell me what was wrong I went back to San Antonio. (One doctor even tried to suggest I had a sinus infection!)
Luckily in San Antonio there's a wonderful Dentist, that by chance is also a MD. Dr. John D Young got me a MRI the day I arrived. He was able to trace my problems back to a surgery I had the previous year. When he looked at my medical record from the surgery he noticed that the Dr. that had put me under noted that he had missed seeing that the breathing tube that is inserted when being put under had knocked my mouth out of place. Since it appeared to be no damage once it was removed when the surgery was done there was nothing said to me. Of course this made me truly upset to find out, but since my insurance was going to be covering the corrective surgery at 100% I didn't feel anything other then a compliant to the state medical board in MN was needed.
The next day I was on my way to the first surgery to try and fix the disc. Being conservative he tried to do it using the lap. (allows surgery with a small cut instead of normal open surgery) It didn't work he couldn't see the area. He went ahead and scheduled me for the full surgery in 1 month to allow time for the tissue to heal.
During the next month the headaches and pain in the TMJ got worse. Finally it came time to have the inpatient surgery to remove the disc. I was happy to know that I should have normal openning and no pain soon. Luckily TX law requires that medical insurance cover the TMJ like they cover any other joint. (*Note if your insurance is an employer funded plan they don't have to comply with TX law, this means they are offering you Company Name Insurance, and not an insurance policy issued by an insurance company)
Day of surgery came and went without problems. He was able to remove the disc, and once that happened my jaw was able to open again. I stayed for 4 days in the hospital due to pain. After that I went to PT, and the next four years without a problem.
While I went 4 years without a problem, we think the reason I started to have problems again happened a year before. I was at that time up about 20 feet in the air when the ladder I was on gave way due to bad worksmanship. I broke both arms and wrists, and did a "belly-flop" when I landed. Of course at the time I didn't think anything of my jaw since it wasn't hurting and everything else was in such a bad state. Fast-forward a year and I was now having the same problems from before but on the other side.
Another MRI was ordered, and low and behold the disc on the left side had actually been inpacted onto the upper jaw. He then noticed I had noted the accident from the year before. He then put two and two together. I had suffered a whiplash injury that moved the disc out of place, over the course of the year it had finally inpacted on the upper jaw. I would have to have surgery to fix it.
Two weeks ago I had the surgery, and he was able to keep the disc and put it back into correct location. I was in the hospital for the arthoplasty of the TMJ for 4 days following the procedure due to pain. Everything seemed to be going good until a few days ago I finally noticed that my jaws no longer aline with each other, and I'm not able to open my jaw any wider the pre-surgery. (Note this time the lose of openning was less then the first time, but still signifcant) I'm starting to have pain again, and am losing hope that I won't have to go back for surgery again.
I'm concerned that as he told me I might in the future have to have the TMJ replaced with an artifical joint. He did tell me he did some shaving of the bone, so my other hope is that maybe with the PT I start this week it will get better.
All in all I've found I'm truly lucky living in a state that requires medical coverage of TMJ issues and that I live in a city where there is actually a doctor that understands and more importantly knows how to treat TMJ. As he put it him and his partner on the other side of San Antonio are the only two specialist in SA that handle this issue. It makes me wonder if there's only two in all of SA how people can find treatment in smaller cities.
You can email me directly at the email below. I'm more then glad to share experiences, information, give contact info for doctors, or just be there to have someone listen that understands the true pain and nightmare that people with TMJ problems face.
caffeyw@yahoo.com
