Chronic Pain

I have constant pain on the right side just near the ear and i have been told that it might be tmj , after using night guard etc and having no relief is ther a list of good doctors or dentists etc who anyone can recommend in the Silicon valley bay area , fremont , union city

Hi there,
Unfortunately, there are no dentists/physicians/surgeons/etc who are board certified in treating TMJ disorder. Because of this, no one can really give referrals since there is no standard for what actually makes a "specialist." Any doctor can take continuing education hours and call themselves a "TMJ specialist" even if they have had 4 hours (or 400). Not only that, but even the "leading" specialists do not agree on what is the "correct" treatment for TMJ disorder. Unfortunately, TMJ disorder can be very complicated, and without the research being done, we can not really move forward.

With that said, I just moved to the Bay Area, so I really do not know anyone here yet.
I'm sorry!
Is there anything else we could help you with instead?

Sincerely,
stacy

You may want to get on the newsletter mailing list for TMJ.org (http://www.tmj.org/)
You will have to register to access their chat rooms/groups/etc.

The most important thing is that you can network with people who suffer the same symptoms that you do. You are not alone. Over ten million people suffer from TMJ disorders in the US. Another very important aspect to networking with TMJ.Org is that you can help a group of people who suffer from this dehibiltating disorder (and those who truly care in the medical field..not the ones that passit off as "all in your head" or worse some psychologial disorder which leaves one questioning their own sanity and starts a vicious cycle of trusting and believing the diagnosis which only leads to ignorance of TMJ being taken serious in the medical field) pass new laws.

Bottom line is this...it is not a condition of the mental state. It is first and foremost a condition of a complex joint within the human body. There are only two joints that are similar in nature, the thumb joint and the jaw joint.

Since the jaw joint is interconnected with the ear muscles and the ear area, it can cause problems within the inner ear. If you have pain in the jaw and it is radiating into the inner ear area....DO NOT EVER, EVER, EVER let a pshchologist, psychiatrist, or any other type of counselor mis diagnose you with a million other maladies witin their particular field. This is old, old, old school medicine and if you find yourself up against this type of situation simply get up and walk out of his/her office. If you find this type of diagnosis within your medical health care records, contest it or ammend it.

TMJ disorders is such a new field, pathetic to say but true, that it is and has been in the years past, been diagnosed as so many different things within the mental health care profession. It is true that it is a complex joint and area of the body to deal with but so is the heart and not everyone with a heart problem has the stigma and the mental health diagnosises attached to that field of medicine.

You have to be vary wary. Not as much as years past but the fight is just beginning since there are laws that the TMJ.org is trying to pass in order to further studies in the TMJ and TMJD area of medicine. It's like years ago, thirteen years ago we wouldn't ever speak of prostate cancer...not it's on TV. Same thing with SBS(Shaken Baby Synrdrome) which is where my first medical documentation of my right (TMJ) problem was first documented in March of 1960. If you have undergone a traumatic event in your earlier years, get records if you can and read them over. Either way, conntect with the TMJ.org website. It's a long hard, uphill battle but the more we network the more we can accomplish.

Be good to yourself. Do not discount home remedies and therapies. They work. Try to remember every day of your life that you have an injury. It's not in your head, it's in a joint/bone area of your jaw. OK.

Patti